加拿大驻沪总领事：中国创新实力令世界瞩目
“90年代，我在加拿大驻华大使馆工作，上下班骑自行车，路上汽车很少；七年前，我到广州，发现汽车多、自行车少；近两年在上海，我又看到ofo、摩拜这些现代、实用的交通工具，这为人们的出行方式提供了更多选择。”作为一名在华多年的外交官，加拿大驻沪总领事艾伟敦先生(Weldon Epp)在谈及中国在改革开放以来的变化时如此说道。
“Back in the 1990s when I was working in the Embassy of Canada to China, I rode a bike to and from work. There were few cars. Seven years ago in Guangzhou, I found more cars than bicycles. These two years in Shanghai, there have appeared several modern practical transportation alternatives, like ofo and Mobike,” said Weldon Epp, Consul General of Canada in China, when asked about his impression on China’s reform and opening up.
“我们看到，中国在创新方面的实力越发明显，这也证明，中国更多地扮演起创新者的角色，不止在科技领域，也包括为社会提供创新的解决方案。另外，中国在环保方面，面对污染问题，不论是改革、投资或是理念，都发生了巨大的变化，以前是发展速度最重要，现在则更关注发展和人民生活的质量。”
“We can see the rise of China’s innovation ability, which is a proof that China is playing more of a role as an innovator, not only in technology but also in providing social solutions. Apart from that, in the field of environmental protection, there have been tremendous changes in reform, investment and concept of pollution-fighting. The focus has been shifted from the speed of growth to the quality of development and people’s lives.”
加拿大驻上海总领事艾伟敦(Weldon Epp)（本图来源：东方网）Weldon Epp, Consul General of Canada in China (Photo by Eastday)
创新与开放的四十年
Forty years of innovation & openness
在艾伟敦看来，民营企业和中小企业是中国改革开放成功的关键。“40年前，中国发展主要依靠国有企业，正因为改革开放，中国的民营企业和中小企业越来越发挥创新的功能。而中国选择的这条路也产生了国际性的影响，许多有活力的创新型私有企业开始在国外投资，带给加拿大新的技术、内容和机会。我们也看好改革开放40年之后的趋势，不仅让中国经济更多元，同时也使更多投资项目和合资企业有机会进入加拿大。”
In the eyes of Weldon Epp, the key to China’s reform and opening up lies in private and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). “40 years ago, China’s development depended much on state-owned enterprises. Thanks to the reform and opening up, SMEs are increasingly playing an innovative function. The path that China chose has its global influence, too. Many private innovation enterprises began to make investments in foreign countries and also brought Canada new technology, content and opportunities. We are positive about the trend after 40 years of reform and opening up. Not only is China’s economy more diverse, it will also bring more possibilities of investments and joint ventures to Canada.”
访谈中，总领事还多次提及中国在电商领域的发展，他表示，加拿大产品也开始寻求利用电商平台走进中国市场。中国的发展速度和创新能力正吸引着全世界的目光，“可以看到，2年、5年、10年之后，将会有一些突破性的创新型解决方案从中国走向世界。”
During the interview, the consul general also mentioned a lot about China’s booming e-commerce and added that Canada is seeking opportunities to enter the Chinese market through e-commerce. He believes China’s speed of development and its innovation ability is attracting world attention. “We will see China’s groundbreaking and innovative solutions on the world stage in the next two, five or ten years.”
总领事认为，中国的对外开放，让人们可以更自由地出国，也加深了中加两国的相互了解和沟通合作。如今，两国高层互访愈加频繁，人们的生活也深受影响。加拿大人到中国留学和旅游更加便利，中国更是成为加拿大留学生的最大来源国和加拿大第三大旅游客源市场。去年，加拿大驻华大使馆和总领事馆收到的签证申请总数就超过了70万。另一方面，加拿大的菜籽油、龙虾、蓝莓、蔓越莓等也越来越受到中国消费者的欢迎。“改革开放初期，中国大量产品出口到其他市场，如今，加拿大已成为中国重要的进口市场。如果我告诉你们，中国现在是加拿大第二大的农产品和海鲜产品出口市场，你们或许并不会吃惊。但是，据内部统计，目前加拿大已经变成中国在农产品和海鲜产品的第四大来源国。”
According to the consul general, thanks to China’s reform and opening up, Chinese people are freer to go abroad, which to some extent has boosted the mutual understanding and cooperation between China and Canada. Nowadays, the two countries are having more high-level visits and people’s lives are deeply influenced. It is more convenient for Canadians to come to China for studies and traveling. Moreover, China has become the largest source country for foreign students in Canada and Canada’s third largest overseas tourist source country. The number of Canada visa applications that the Canadian Embassy and consulate generals in China received in 2017 alone exceeded 700,000. Apart from that, Canada’s canola oil, lobsters, blueberries and cranberries are more and more popular among Chinese consumers. “At the early stage of the reform and opening up, China exported a large number of products to other markets. Now, Canada has become an important import market for China. You may not be surprised if I tell you China is Canada’s second largest farm produce and seafood export market, but as internal statistics indicate, Canada has become China’s No. 4 source country of farm produce and seafood.”
中加合作取得突破性进展
Breakthroughs in China-Canada relations
1970年就建交的中加两国，在人文交流，尤其是高等教育领域，早有非常重要的合作关系，近年来更是取得了突破性的进展。总领事告诉记者，2014年，加拿大渥太华大学医学院就与上海交通大学医学院联手打造“上海-渥太华联合医学院”，一年后，该学院又在上海设立了中国首个国际家庭医生诊所，这为致力推行家庭医生制度的上海提供了示范性诊疗模式。目前，中国正在大规模地提高医疗体系、设备、服务和教育，这也为两国开展合作提供了双赢的机会。
China and Canada, which established diplomatic relations in 1970, have long maintained important cooperation in cultural exchanges, especially in the field of higher education. More importantly, breakthroughs have been achieved over the recent years. As Weldon Epp told Eastday.com, in 2014, the Ottawa-Shanghai Joint School of Medicine was established thanks to a partnership between the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Ottawa. One year later, the institute set up China’s first international family doctor clinic in Shanghai, setting a model demonstration of diagnosis and treatment for Shanghai’s implementation of the family doctor system. At present, China is massively improving its medical system, equipment, services and education, thus providing a win-win situation for the cooperation between the two countries.
今年初，上海市政府出台了“文创50条”，目标到2035年将上海全面建成具有国际影响力的文化创意产业中心。对此，总领事自豪地说：“事实上，在文创产业，加拿大很早就与上海市政府和企业建立了合作关系。比如2014年创办的上海温哥华电影学院”。他对中国的电影行业充满信心：“中国很快要变成世界上最大的电影市场。中国的电影行业越来越成熟，并且开始注意到加拿大有许多在动漫、后期、特效等方面很强的中小企业，今后双方将有越来越多的合作项目诞生。”
Earlier this year, the Shanghai municipal government issued 50 measures to boost its cultural and creative industries, aiming to build Shanghai into a cultural and creative center with international influence by 2035. In this regard, Weldon Epp was very proud, “In fact, in the cultural and creative industries, Canada has long established cooperative relationships with the Shanghai government and enterprises. A good example is the Shanghai Vancouver Film School founded in 2014.” He is full of confidence in China’s film industry, “China will soon become the world’s largest movie market. As its movie industry gets more mature, it began to notice that Canada has many SMEs strong on animation, post-production, special effects and other aspects. Both sides will have more and more cooperation projects in the future.”
谈及未来的工作重点，艾伟敦说，2018年是加中旅游年，今年3月，中国政府将在多伦多举办开幕活动，加拿大旅游局也会在全年向中国推广加拿大的旅游机会，尤其是7月1日加拿大国庆节，加拿大会在上海举行相关的庆祝活动。他还表示：“加拿大是一个非常多元的旅游地点，不仅有大城市、大自然，也有海鲜、酒厂、游轮、文化、运动等方面的旅游机会。我们期待更多的中国游客不止去一次加拿大，希望他们去很多次，每次收获不同的体验。所以，我们也将在中国打造出更成熟、更多元的旅游产品和品牌。”
Speaking of future priorities, the consul general said that 2018 is the Canada-China Year of Tourism. In March, there will be an opening event in Toronto held by the Chinese government. Destination Canada will also promote Canada’s tourism to Chinese people throughout the year. In particular, on July 1, Canada Day, there will be relevant celebrations in Shanghai. He also said, “Canada is a diverse tourist destination. Apart from big cities and natural scenery, we also have seafood, wineries, cruise ships, culture, sports and many more. We expect more Chinese tourists to visit Canada more than once, each time having different experiences. So we will create more mature and diversified tourism products and brands in China.”
此外，今年11月，首届中国国际进口博览会将在上海举行，艾伟敦透露，加拿大也将此次博览会当成今年的工作重点，并开始准备安排政府和企业参与。
In addition, this November, the first China International Import Expo will be held in Shanghai. According to Weldon Epp, Canada will make the exposition the focus of this year’s work agenda and set about arranging the government and enterprises to participate.
By Wu Qiong
