Premier Announces More Than $800 Million in New Agreements in Beijing

Partnerships with Chinese Businesses Creating 860 Ontario Jobs

Today at a ceremony in Beijing, Premier Kathleen Wynne announced almost $600 million in new agreements expected to create 583 jobs in Ontario.

Ontario and Chinese businesses and institutions signed 25 agreements today, including:

• Ontario’s OTT Financial Group and Tencent Cloud are working together to build a Business Accelerator Centre in Toronto that will foster entrepreneurship, introduce applications of internet technologies, and provide start-up businesses with funding, technology and administrative support. They are also working together to develop Tencent Cloud markets in Canada. Together, the projects are valued at $15 million

• Queen Financial Group signed a cooperation agreement with China Taihe Group and Funding Investment Management, valued at $500 million, to co-sponsor the establishment of the Haichuang Fund, a high-tech talent innovation venture equity investment fund

• Western University signed an agreement with the China Automotive Battery Research Institute (CABRI), valued at $3.35 million, to establish a joint laboratory to develop next-generation all solid-state batteries for electric vehicles. They also announced that CABRI has registered a new Canadia n-based R&D company.

Premier Wynne also participated in a discussion on women and entrepreneurship, facilitated by Diane Wang, CEO of DH Gate, a leading business-to-business e-commerce provider that offers a platform for small and medium enterprises. The Premier spoke with Diane Wang and Em Roblin, founder and managing director of Circles2, about ways to increase women’s participation in entrepreneurship, improve women’s economic empowerment, and take further steps towards equality around the world.

The Premier also met with Wan Gang, China’s Minister of Science and Technology, to re-sign a Memorandum of Understanding that was originally signed in 2008, further strengthening Ontario and China’s joint commitment to research and innovation collaboration. Including today’s announcement, the agreement has generated over $30 million in joint funding for collaborative industry and academic research projects.

The Premier remains in Beijing tomorrow, and will meet with Feihe International to discuss the company’s plans to build their first infant milk formula production facility outside of China. The over $225 million investment will create around 277 jobs in Kingston. Ontario will support the project with a $24.1 million investment through the Jobs and Prosperity Fund.

Premier Wynne will also visit the Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT) tomorrow. Today, McMaster University announced they are planning to launch a start-up company to manufacture an advanced battery cell tester for electric vehicles in Ontario. This announcement builds on a partnership agreement signed between BIT and McMaster University during the Premier’s first mission to China in 2014, which resulted in the development of an advanced battery cell tester for electric vehicles.

Growing international trade and investment is part of Ontario’s plan to create fairness and opportunity during this period of rapid economic change. The plan includes a higher minimum wage and better working conditions, free tuition for hundreds of thousands of students, easier access to affordable child care, and free prescription drugs for everyone under 25 through the biggest expansion of medicare in a generation.

QUICK FACTS

• More than $14 billion is spent on R&D in Ontario each year. Globally recognized technology companies like Apple, Google, IBM and Amazon all conduct R&D in Ontario.
• Ontario plans to boost the number of graduates in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by 25 per cent, and aims to graduate 1,000 applied masters students in artificial intelligence-related fields per year, both within five years.
• In 2016, two-way trade in science and technology between Ontario and China totalled nearly $18 billion, 42 per cent of the regions’ total two-way trade.
• Follow the Premier’s mission to China and Vietnam on Twitter.