Chinese companies should intensify their drive to invest in Canada, especially in the energy sector, as there are tremendous opportunities, an official from the Ministry of Commerce said.

Jiang Shan, minister counselor of the nation's embassy in Canada, said there has been an apparent increase in Chinese investment in Canada.

"We can feel that the Canadian government welcomes Chinese investment, without setting any restrictions. Meanwhile, China's companies have a strong desire to invest in Canada," said Jiang.

During the past two years, Chinese companies have poured billions of dollars into Canadian energy assets.

In 2011 alone, there were two large acquisitions of Canadian energy companies by Chinese companies. Each deal was valued at more than $2 billion.

In October, China Petroleum and Chemical Corp, Asia's biggest refiner, agreed to buy the oil and gas producer Daylight Energy Ltd, which is based in Calgary.

In July, CNOOC Ltd, China's largest offshore oil explorer, bought Calgary-based Opti Canada Inc to expand its oil sands reserves.

More recently, PetroChina - which previously agreed to buy a 20 per cent stake in Shell's Groundbirch assets - moved to extend its reach into Canadian shale gas assets through a deal with Royal Dutch Shell. That transaction was reported to be worth more than $1 billion.

Figures from Statistics Canada show that in 2010, China's investment in Canada was three times that of Canadian enterprises' investment in China, or $4.8 billion.
 

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