Mr. Alvin Hamilton

In Oct. 1960, Mr. Alvin Hamilton was appointed as Minister of Agriculture.

After took office, Mr. Hamilton immediately faced to solve a manifold problem that predecessor encountered, especially the large number of surplus grain since 1950s.

At that time, the United States has ordered Western allies to embargo on China by establishing comprehensive anti-China policy.

Mr. Hamilton did not care about those policies that were harming the interests of Canada, to open up extremely broad market of China. In the autumn of 1960, he initiatively sent envoy to Beijing for the contact.

In the same year November, the buyers of China also went to Montreal, thus, Canada and China quickly made first deal of grain trade.

At that time, China suffered three years of natural disasters, was extremely lack of food. It made China as a large international grain buyer.

In early 1961, China and Canada signed a purchase agreement 28 million bushels and 12 million bushels (two total combined 1,000,000 tons) of cereals.

The first grain trade agreement was as pioneer to have paved a significant way for solving the problem of rapid growth surplus of wheat in Canada, but also it opened door to China politically. So that Mr. Pierre Trudeau could realize his long-cherished wish to visit China in 1962.

The success of the first trade was excited and encouraged Mr. Hamilton, and he immediately started planning negotiations with China to sign a long-term food trade agreements. To this end, he took a consideration of the "gift promotion" program, which was giving a certain amount of grain to China to encourage China long-term buying Canadian grain.

At that time, China has been greatly constrained in foreign trade, and in extremely shortage in foreign exchange reserve, due to anti-China policy of isolation and economic blockade of the United States. So that China was difficult to pay Canada by foreign exchange.

In 1961, in a talk for long-term grain trade, China side proposed a solution: in the next two years and a half, to buy about 5 million tons of wheat and 1.28 million tons of barley, but, with the proviso that had to use the loans of Canada. China side stressed that: loans are the main condition.

China's solution can help to resolve the huge surplus grain of Canada, and it is great benefit to Canadians.

After careful consideration, Mr. Hamilton smiled: "Backed with thousands of years of civilization, Chinese people are lack of dollars but never lack of wisdom."