Thank you, Chair.
Thank you all for being here. It's a fascinating discussion.
Mr. Curtis, I love that story you had of 1949. That's fascinating to hear, the remarks of the entry into the new world with the Chinese revolution. That's before I was born, but I remember as a boy reading about the Chinese revolution and the Russian revolution. It's fascinating stuff. That first part of the revolution really lasted about 30 years. It's remarkable when you think about it. We think about that as such a long time, but the second part of the revolution really intrigues me.
I was privileged to go to China twice. I went the first time to Beijing. The second time I was able to go to Shanghai. I think you've probably been there, and a lot of people have. We were taken up that tower in Shanghai—I forget the name. When we were finished, they took us down to the basement. They didn't take us to the bottom; they took us to the basement. They gave us a history lesson. I don't know if you've seen it. It's fascinating. We saw 5,000 years of Chinese history, which is remarkable. There's nothing more remarkable in the world, I don't think, actually.
Then they showed the turn of the 20th century with the Boxer revolution and the servitude. You saw the little guys carrying the rickshaws and the Western women in their attire. Then they went right from there to 1980—actually it was 1970. So the picture stopped. They starting showing Shanghai. They skipped that whole part of the Chinese revolution, which told me something. I remember the story about the.... I don't know if this is factual. They asked a Chinese general after the revolution what he thought about the French revolution. He said it was too early to tell. It gives you a glimpse of the Chinese, and they're remarkable people. They have amazing capabilities.
It's quite obvious that this is something that's going to be of great benefit to the financial sector, but I am concerned about the manufacturing sector. I think most of us recognize that the Chinese were able to take a large part of it, not only in Canada but throughout the world. It seems that we've reached possibly an equilibrium, I don't know. But I want to know how this is going to benefit what we have left. I understand that we're able to trade in B.C. I congratulate you for that. With your proximity, you're able to do some great trading with the Chinese, but what about the rest of Canada? For the rest of Canada, the people in my riding who manufacture goods, is this going to help us? Is this something that is going to be able to increase our trade with the Chinese, and will the Chinese begin to trade with us and start to buy the parts that we're good at making? Maybe just give us your take on that.