Events

National security, national interest, and natural resources: What should Canadians think about CNOOC’s bid for Nexen?

By October 5, 2012March 18th, 2020No Comments

Macdonald-Laurier Institute Event

*For full event video, click here

Is the CNOOC’s bid for Nexen the thin edge of a Chinese wedge in the natural resource sector or merely a logical step for an oil patch seeking to diversify both investment sources and markets? Will it be a one-time transaction, or will it unlock a wider wave of investment by Chinese and other state-owned enterprises? What are the implications of a growing Chinese presence for Canada’s relationship with the United States and other energy and security partners? How should Canada’s national interest in the transaction be defined so that we can judge whether it will be of net benefit to Canada?

These are just some of the questions that will be asked and answered by a panel composed of Canadian and American experts who have thought long and hard about national security, the Canada-China-US triangle, energy policy, geopolitical strategy and all the other factors that need to be weighed in arriving at a balanced assessment of the costs and benefits of the proposed deal.

 

Our panel includes:

Ray Boisvert, CEO of I-SEC Integrated Strategies (ISECIS) and recently retired as Assistant Director for Intelligence at CSIS.

Roger Robinson, former Senior Director of International Economic Affairs at the U.S. National Security Council and Executive Secretary of the Cabinet-level Senior Inter-Governmental Group for International Economic Policy (SIG-IEP), and former chairman of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

David Kilgour, former Secretary of State for Asia-Pacific and a well-known human rights activist.

Gordon Houlden, Director, China Institute, University of Alberta and former Director General of the East Asian Bureau of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

 

Agenda

7:30 AM     Continental Breakfast

8:00 AM     Panel Discussion

9:30 AM      Adjourn. Media scrum begins.

October 17, 2012

Delta Hotel, Ottawa