38 BCBusiness SEptEmBER 2018
by NG WENG HOONG illustration by JENNIFER TAPIAS DERCH
TROUBLE
BIG
I N L I T T L E B . C .
British Columbia
wants closer business
ties with China, but the
superpower's rise has
prompted concerns. How
much of a threat does Beijing
really pose to this province?
s he moves to consolidate power at home, Xi Jinping is sowing doubt
abroad. From Asia to North America, other countries were already ques-
tioning the motives of an increasingly assertive China. Now President Xi's
war on corruption—a key justi cation for extending his rule inde nitely at
last March's National People's Congress—has created a new China threat for
business partners and even political allies.
Beijing recently arrested several tycoons who controlled global empires,
including Anbang Insurance Group chair and
CEO Wu Xiaohui. Until their
downfall, these billionaires were the face of the new China, building international rela-
tionships to help Xi realize his vision for the Belt and Road Initiative
(BRI). The BRI is
China's US$1-trillion e"ort to link the economies of Asia, the Middle East, Africa and
Europe, and key ports in Asia, the Arctic and the Americas.
In Canada, titan Anbang owned a stable of assets that the Chinese govern-
ment reportedly seized after Wu's conviction on fraud and embezzlement
charges. Among them: B.C.-based seniors care chain Retirement Concepts and
Vancouver's Bentall Centre o—ce complex. Anbang paid roughly $1 billion for Retirement
Concepts in 2017, and the four Bentall towers have a similar value. While Wu is appeal-
ing the conviction and an 18-year jail sentence, Canadian stakeholders remain in
the dark. (Paci c Reach Seniors Housing Management, which operates Retirement
Concepts, did not respond to a request for an update.)
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