He took particular aim at the blocking of the Aecon deal, which did not involve sophisticated technology or manufacturing expertise.





Infrastructure construction “is one of the strongest strengths that China has,” he added, and “construction-wise, China can offer a lot to Canada.”





Blocking the deal “doesn’t sound very positive for Sino-Canadian trade relations,” he said.





Lu Jianzhong, president of the Hong Kong investment arm of CCCC, in a brief e-mailed comment, said: “What’s important is not the message the Canadian government conveys, it’s the way market and investors interpret it.”





Canadian observers have raised alarm that Aecon’s involvement in building critical projects provides it with access to sensitive information that could be of interest to the Chinese government.



