On September 29, the 17th Annual Conference of China’s Canadian Study Association and the Symposium on Strategic Cooperation between China and Canada in the context of the “Belt and Road” Initiative, hosted by the China’s Canadian Study Association and undertaken by the New Rural Development Research Institute of Yunnan Agricultural University, opened at Yunnan Agricultural University. At the opening ceremony, CCS of GDUFS, which is the Cultivation Base for Regional and National Studies of the Ministry of Education, and the Collaborative Innovation Center for the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road Studies co-sponsored the press conference for Blue Book of Canada: Annual Report on the Development of Canada (2017). More than 120 experts and scholars from China and Canada attended.
Xie Shouguang, President of the Social Sciences Academic Press, stated that the Canada Blue Books belong to the Blue Books on National and Regional Studies published earlier in China. On the fourth consecutive year of publication, the Blue Book has been greatly improved in terms of content andnormalization[GM1], and has achieved high academic standards. Its release played an important role in motivating the research team and generating academic influence. At the same time, it also vigorously promoted friendly cooperation between China and Canada and played a role as a bridge for mutual exchanges. He hoped that the team that compiling Blue Books would continue to work hard to strengthen studies on Canadian society and culture, public health, and overseas Chinese people living in the country. He said that Social Sciences Academic Press would establish a closer cooperative relationship with GDUFS, further enhance the international influence of this field of study, and better serve long-term friendly cooperation between China and Canada.
Yang Aimin, Vice President of GDUFS, discussed the development of CCS at GDUFS. According to his introduction, as one of the 42 Cultivation Bases for Regional and National Studies in China, our university’s CCS originated from the Center for Canadian Studies of the Guangzhou Institute of Foreign Languages (the predecessor of GDUFS), which was set up in 1989 and was the first important institute in Guangdong province as well as the earlier batch in China specializing in Canadian teaching and studies. After nearly 30 years of effort, the social influence of CCS has gradually expanded. In recent years, CCS has made the compilation of the Blue Book of Canada one of its key tasks each year. The research results of CCS have been highly valued by government departments, think tanks and other universities.
Tang Xiaosong, editor-in-chief of the Blue Book of Canada: Annual Report on the Development of Canada (2017), gave a brief introduction to the content of the new book. He pointed out that 2016 was the first year for Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government to lead Canada to make "real change". And the new government’s domestic and foreign policies fully reflected its platform ideas and concepts during election. Strengthening the in-depth understanding and research on the internal and foreign affairs of the new government and comprehensive national conditions of the country would help the Chinese government, enterprises, and academia to accurately analyze and judge Canada’s future development trend. According to research, in terms of internal affairs, the Trudeau government continued to run a fiscal deficit, invested heavily in development and the improvement of infrastructure, and vigorously supported the middle class. However, because the deficit could not be eliminated in the short term, the plan would have some negative impact to Trudeau’s government. In terms of foreign relations, Trudeau adhered to the concept of "multilateralization" and "internationalization", and made efforts in global governance and in improving relations with the United Nations, which had a significant effect on the restoration of Canada's national image. Trudeau attached great importance to ties with Asia and cooperation with Asian countries, especially placing China-Canada relations in an important position. With Canada's official accession to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the two countries had put important issues such as the China-Canada Free Trade Agreement on the agenda. China-Canada relations were expected to enter a new normal of in-depth development.
It is reported that first Blue Book of Canada was published in GDUFS in 2014, which is China's first Blue Book to systematically study the national conditions of Canada. The Canada Blue Book is of great significance and value in enriching China's theoretical research, policy analysis and strategic evaluation in the field of Canada.
