The conclusion of the Canada-China Foreign Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement (FIPPA) is an important step in Canada's relationship with China. The FIPPA negotiations were initiated 18 years ago by the Chrétien government and brought to a close by the Harper government. It is something of a coincidence that the agreement was signed at around the same time that the government of Canada is reviewing the proposed acquisition of Nexen by CNOOC, a Chinese state-owned-enterprise (S). Written by Milos Barutciski and Matthew Kronby.