The Sunshine Coast was host to a prestigious group last week as the Consul General of China Liang Shugen and his wife Ma Shu toured the Coast with a group of nine business professionals from the Shenghai Business Association.
The delegation was invited to the Coast by the Sechelt Indian Band who honoured them with a dinner and ceremony in the Sechelt longhouse April 28.
Chief Garry Feschuk said he met the consul general's wife in Victoria and set up the meeting to showcase the Sechelt territory and hopefully create working relationships with the Chinese people.
"There are so many opportunities that can arise within our territory and that's why we asked you to come," he said. "I'm hoping we can generate further dialogue on what are key initiatives that we can do. I know that the goal initiative was how we can involve our community, our culture into the tourism side when people from your country come to B.C."
The guests from China were treated to a retelling of the Sechelt Nation's history, traditional songs and dances as well as a feast complete with salmon and bannock.
Representatives from other Coast governments were also invited to attend the event and get to know the delegation.
In addition, the consul general and his wife took time during their two-day tour of the Coast to meet separately with the District of Sechelt, Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD), Capilano University and the staff at Elphinstone Secondary School. The time slot available to meet with the Town of Gibsons was unworkable, but Mayor Barry Janyk did have the opportunity to speak with the delegation during their visit to the SCRD.
Sechelt Mayor Darren Inkster said the luncheon with the delegation in the Rockwood went well and that members of the Sunshine Coast Community Forest attended to foster working relationships with the Chinese visitors.
"The chair and president of the community forest came to create relationships and make contacts. The Chinese are interested in a lot of our wood right now," Inkster noted.
Talk about timber and creating friendships between governments came up at the meeting with the SCRD as well.
When the delegation met with educators, the discussion turned to opportunities for Chinese students to study locally.
"We would like to see some of their students come to the Sunshine Coast. With the falling enrollment here, we need to draw in students through cultural exchange," said Kenan MacKenzie, who helped organize the two-day tour.
He noted that the Coquitlam school district currently has hundreds of students from China enrolled, and with those students comes economic stimulus.
"Quite often the parents of those students will invest in the community," he said.
The Sunshine Coast was pitched as a safe place for Chinese students, where learning English would be easier without the Chinese-speaking populous of the Lower Mainland nearby.
Before the delegation left, they also met with business people and toured Hillside Industrial Park, and they were taken on a tour of the Sechelt Nation's territory by helicopter.
