Thank you very much, Chair.
I appreciate the presentation. There are a couple of issues you mentioned that I'd like to discuss with you and get your feedback on.
The first has to do with trade and productivity. You talked specifically about the importance of emerging markets and the fact that 23% of your business is attributed to that, which translates to about $15 billion worth of trade. I think one of the most important emerging foreign markets that we need to work with is China. That has been well documented and extensively written about, and there have been many analyses along those lines.
Last month Mr. Emerson visited China, and he made some remarks and observations about his trip. He indicated that we're losing ground in terms of market share of exports, and he also indicated that we're losing ground in terms of foreign direct investment, in the share that's coming to Canada in a North American context. So that was his observation. He indicated that first-hand. I want to get your feedback on how EDC could help improve that situation.
Secondly, you talked about branding. You talked about how Canada needs to brand itself internationally. I think one of the misconceptions that exist is that we're a country of natural resources, and that you can come and take our natural resources, and you can then manufacture goods from them. That's something we really have to work hard on.
Again, just this weekend, Mr. MacKay said that China needs Canada's natural resources and noted that Canada has a huge trade surplus with China.
So how do we change that paradigm? We had the Minister of Foreign Affairs talking about our natural resources. We had the Minister of International Trade talking about our eroding trade and investment. So how does EDC help fix our trade situation with China, and how do we help brand ourselves better with China, not simply as a supplier of natural resources but as a country that can also provide high-value-added goods and service?