



A BYD model being displayed at an exhibition in Haikou, capital of South China's Hainan Province in January. Photo: VCG

It will be increasingly difficult for the Canadian auto sector to attract Chinese investment in the near future against the backdrop of heightened China-Canada diplomatic tensions over a senior executive of China's technology giant Huawei, said industry analysts.If Canada continues to serve US political interests at the cost of harming China's and even its own in international society, the country will cause more and more global investors, including those from China, to lose their confidence in the market, they noted.Flavio Volpe, president of Canada's Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association (APMA), said several Chinese automakers planning to expand production in Canada have put their plans on hold over the arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, according to a CBC News report in December 2018.As US automaker General Motors (GM) decided to close a facility in Oshawa, Canada, which is a customer for the local auto parts industry, Canada needs to find a new customer - a Chinese automaker - to replace that capacity, Volpe said in the CBC report, without disclosing the Chinese automaker's name.Two Chinese automakers - State-owned SAIC Motor Corp and Guangzhou Automobile Group Motor Co (GAC) - were reportedly investigating the Canadian auto market to continue their overseas expansion.SAIC could not be reached as of press time.A source close to the company told the Global Times on Tuesday that the company's expansion plan did not include Canada yet, since its focus is not in North America but the UK-centered European market instead.GAC did not reply to the Global Times inquiries as of press time.A BYD PR representative told the Global Times on Tuesday that the company had no investment plans in the Canadian market even before Meng's case took place.For the near future, the automaker has no plans."The facility in the US market can cover our business in the North American market," said the PR representative, noting that BYD has some orders for electric buses in Canada. However, the number of buses involved is not comparable to the number in the US.Feng Shiming, a car analyst with Shanghai-based Menutor Consulting, told the Global Times on Tuesday that Canada's hopes of boosting its sluggish auto market via a new savior - China - are not workable.He noted that in terms of capital, the Canadian auto industry certainly welcomes Chinese automakers' investment to help drive local employment and economic growth. But against the backdrop of bilateral diplomatic tensions, the latter, especially State-owned automakers, will definitely not make such moves.In addition, it is not that significant for Chinese auto manufacturers to invest in a cash-heavy vehicle facility in Canada since the nation's auto parts industry, a main segment of its vehicle sector, has forged synergy with US manufacturers located near the Great Lakes region, Feng said."The US auto industry is contracting, which is bound to have a huge impact on the development of the auto parts industry, as well as its vehicle manufacturing industry," he added.US automaker GM announced plans to shut down five of its plants in the US and Canada late last year, media reports said.Foreign investment from China into Canada nearly halved in 2018, the Financial Post reported Monday, citing the Canada-China Investment Tracker. Total investment fell to $4.43 billion from $8.45 billion in 2017, it said."If the Canadian side continues its politicized handling of the Huawei case in order to meet the US' unreasonable request, Canada is set to lose investment opportunities from the world, including China," said Li Haidong, a professor at the Beijing-based China Foreign Affairs University.Li told the Global Times Tuesday that corporate executives may have concerns over Canada's legal environment and lose confidence in its business climate. "If Canada can solve the diplomatic crisis under the principles of law, it will enhance confidence from these potential investors," Li added.