Canada names climate negotiator Saint-Jacques ambassador to China

Guy Saint-Jacques, a career diplomat fluent in Mandarin, will represent Canada in Beijing, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird announced here on Wednesday. Saint-Jacques recently served as chief negotiator and ambassador for climate change at Environment Canada and will succeed David Mulroney, who served as Canada's ambassador to the People's Republic of China since 2009 and is credited with deepening the Sino-Canadian relationship. Mulroney's successor wasted no time in signaling that he intends to keep economic ties tight between the two countries at a time when the Canadian government is considering whether or not to approve the proposed 15.1-billion U.S. dollar takeover bid by China's CNOOC Ltd. of Canadian oil-and-gas producer, Nexen Inc. Saint-Jacques told reporters Wednesday that much work remains to be done in ensuring that Canadian companies have "greater access" to the Chinese market, "and we have to continue to address very forcefully the present trade imbalance" with China. In 2011, Canada imported 48.1-billion Canadian dollars' worth of goods from China, a significant increase from 8.2 billion dollars a decade before, while Canadian exports to China reached 16.8 billion dollars compared with about 2.7 billion dollars. Saint-Jacques, who is married and has two daughters, also said he wants to promote "a closer and frank dialogue" with China on " broad security issues and make progress on human rights and religious freedom". Holding a Master of Arts degree in land planning and regional development from Laval University in Quebec City, he previously served as deputy head of mission in Washington, D.C. and deputy high commissioner in London. Saint-Jacques' appointment as ambassador will be his fourth diplomatic posting to China, having previously served in Hong Kong and twice in Beijing. But some Canada-China observers have expected Ottawa to name a senior political appointee to Beijing - now considered the second- most important diplomatic posting after Washington, where a former Canadian provincial premier, Gary Doer, serves as Canada's ambassador to the United States. The Globe and Mail, one of Canada's national daily newspapers, recently reported that former Canadian foreign affairs minister David Emerson and former international trade minister Stockwell Day - both in the federal Cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper 's Conservative government - had been approached about the post to China but neither had wanted it. However, Baird assured reporters on Wednesday that Ambassador- designate Saint-Jacques will have "close links" to both him and Harper, as well as to senior leaders of Canada's public service and business communities across the country when the diplomat begins his "important political and security" posting.  (1 U.S. dollar = 0.9841 Canadian dollars)