Promoting opportunities for British Columbia-China collaboration in wood construction, tourism and energy was the focus of Premier John Horgan’s visit to Beijing, which also included a wood and green-building policy forum.

Canadian and provincial government representatives and delegates from the Canadian forest sector met today with China’s State Forestry Administration and Chinese industry officials to advance discussion around sustainable forest management practices during the China-Canada Roundtable on Illegal Logging in Beijing.

The B.C. government’s ongoing efforts to develop international markets for the province’s forest product industry took another step forward, as Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Steve Thomson welcomed two more development agreements with two departments of the Shanghai Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Administration Commission.

The Canadian and B.C. governments renewed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Chinese National Ministry of Housing and Urban Development. The memorandum is an important part of developing and growing markets for high-quality, sustainably produced Canadian wood products.

As the first few days of Premier Christy Clark's Jobs and Trade Mission 2013 come to a close, here is a recap of what's been happening: