The Diamond Bourse of Canada (DBC) is opening a permanent liaison office at the Shanghai Diamond Exchange (SDE), China’s primary diamond gateway.
The announcement comes shortly after a delegation of Canadian diamond businesses visited the exchange. The trip was a collaborative effort between the DBC, SDE, and the Diamond Administration of China (DAC).
The explosive demand for diamonds in China helped spur the visit, said DBC chair Bhushan Vora, stressing the country’s potential future role as a major market for Canadian polished diamonds.
“We believe we are faced with a unique opportunity here to create and establish a distinct value proposition for Canadian polished diamonds within the rapidly expanding Chinese diamond market,” Vora said. “On the whole, the average Chinese consumer already has a very favourable perception of Canada. To capitalize on this foundation though, it is important the marketing of Canadian polished diamonds transcend its usual selling points of ethics, sustainability, or quality and focus more on selling and marketing ‘Canada’ and the idea of Canada to the Chinese end consumer.”
The delegates also looked at establishing bilateral trade relations between the bourses, as well as promoting Canada’s emerging diamond industries to potential Chinese investors. Additional trade missions are expected in the coming months.
