We work very closely with them. In fact, they have a deep research capability that is not inherently built into our own organization, so we do collaborate with them. We will also consult with them frequently on issues of mutual concern. Many of the issues they have highlighted in their national conversation on Asia and some of the work they've done to underpin that gets to some of the elements of what an Asia strategy or a China strategy might include. They take some of the good work that's already being done, such as the global markets action plan, but they think about it in a very comprehensive fashion, going beyond trade and investment to include people flows, education. I think this ultimately results in perhaps a better balance and healthier attitudes toward certain Asian countries than what may exist, based on some of the polling they've done in Canada.
One of the things we find when we look at their surveys is that in Canada, in general, the average Canadian is afraid of a place like China. We see it even in terms of many companies that go in saying that they're afraid for their intellectual property or that it's just so different from their traditional markets like the U.S. Part of an overall strategy, for example the Australian white paper that Ailish mentioned, is helping to think about a country's overall attitude toward a place like China.
A few months ago I was in New Zealand, which is, of course, one of the few developed countries that has a free trade agreement with China, and I noted with interest a very broad-based, healthy dialogue about China. It would come up in conversation—not positively, not negatively—in terms of what was happening with investment in farming or exports of lobster or whatever. There was an element to it that I haven't seen here in Canada. I think the government can take a lead on that.
I would also note that the global markets action plan is very ambitious. It's important. To go from 11,000 exporting companies to 21,000 is not an insignificant task. It's going to take the help of many organizations beyond the federal government to get there, but we have to get there.