BEIJING—Striding the Great Wall of China, Premier Kathleen Wynne had a spring in her step.

Her first overseas trade mission — a whirlwind week of meetings and courtesy calls in Shanghai, Nanjing and Beijing — led to almost $1 billion in new Chinese investment in Ontario and nearly 1,800 new jobs for the province in a range of industries.

“‎It was inspiring, I think that’s the word,” Wynne said in an interview here Saturday, squeezing in some last-minute sightseeing at the Juyongguan section of the Great Wall before the 13-hour flight home.

“The excitement with which we were received and the enthusiasm for working with us — I kind of knew that that was a possibility, but it was much warmer than I expected,” she said ‎the morning after pitching Ontario on Friday to some 450 Chinese officials from government, banks, universities and corporations making everything from smartphones to water filters.

‎Representatives from about 60 Ontario companies and organizations paid their own way to accompany Wynne, who spent much of her time opening doors for them with the Chinese.

In total, 25 of those firms signed $966 million in deals, generating 1,795 jobs, including ‎325 at telecom giant Huawei in Markham and Ottawa and 800 at a new trading centre‎ in Whitchurch-Stouffville to be built by Yiwu North America Corp.

More Sino-Ontario agreements are imminent.

Speaking of a country with 1.3 billion people, 100 times the population of Ontario, the premier said: “They have real, real challenges that they’re facing. Agriculture … and food is on people’s minds. Not just food safety, but also the quantity — getting enough good food for people.”

Wynne, who like nearly everyone in the Ontario delegation has a raspy throat from Beijing’s punishing smog, said Canada has much expertise to offer on clean air and water.

“I have really been struck by the inability of people to be outside and seeing moms walking with a mask on and their kids with a mask on,” she said.

“The political leaders understand that people are not going to put up with that forever and that they are going to have to deal with it. It’s an environmental challenge, but it’s a political imperative for people here.”

Hill Li, an international project specialist at the Beijing-based International Green Economy Association, said the Chinese are hungry for Ontario know-how in cleaning up their water and air.

“It’s just in time. Look outside,” he said, referring to the thick haze engulfing the Chinese capital.

“We hope we can encourage Canadian companies to do joint ventures — perhaps with headquarters in China or in Ontario,” said Li, whose association represents about 1,000 Chinese green technology firms and is eager for Canadian partners. “We want to help them match up.”

Zhu Shilong, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission, said the city, with more than 400 scientific institutions, is emerging as a worldwide centre for research.

“It is a must for us to leverage the strength of innovation in Beijing. Ontario is the province in Canada that is the most developed,” said Zhu, adding the province’s leadership in automotive technology, nuclear power, aerospace, clean energy, pollution controls and food safety make it a very attractive partner for China.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

“International co-operation is essential. I hope to see more of Ontario’s businesses located in Beijing,” he said.

Wynne, here on the eve of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s visit to China later this week, ‎was joined for part of her trip by two of her provincial counterparts.

Like Wynne, it was the first overseas trip for Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard since taking office earlier this year.

“I see this as an essential part of my role as premier of Quebec. I’m happy I can open doors (for Quebec companies and universities),” he said, emphasizing he wants Chinese firms to help develop Quebec’s mining sector. “We have catch-up to do, there’s no doubt about it.”

Prince Edward Island Premier Robert Ghiz, who on Friday opened a Beijing outlet of the popular Charlottetown-based ice cream chain, Cows, said the Chinese market is too attractive to pass up.

“Canada is overreliant on trade with the United States. We need to diversify our markets. Despite the language barrier, we still have a lot on common,” said Ghiz, who was also pushing P.E.I.’s world-famous seafood and agricultural produce here.

“Our mussels, our oysters, our potatoes, our soya beans are in great demand here and (personal and political) relationships do help with trade,” he said.

Wynne, the first female premier in Ontario history and only the second openly lesbian foreign political leader to visit China, was pleased not to encounter any discrimination in country where homosexuality was outlawed until 1997 and remains taboo.

“I felt that I was treated as the premier. It was the position and the respect that was accorded the position.”

While the welcome was warm, there remain some challenges to doing business here.

Beyond the language differences and the always tricky issue of human rights in a Communist state, there are unusual hurdles.

On the recommendation of the Ontario Provincial Police, for example, Wynne and all her officials are having their BlackBerry smartphones, iPads and laptops checked for viruses and bugs from China’s notorious hackers.

But they will be sure not to delete the Rolodex of contacts they made here.

Read more about: