Container transporter trucks line up to be unloaded by gantry cranes at Yangshan Port outside of Shanghai, China, on June 17.Go Nakamura/Reuters

Masato Kanda is president of the Asian Development Bank.

Asia and the Pacific is the world’s busiest jobsite: power grids, public transit and digital networks are being built and financed at record pace. The region now generates more than 60 per cent of global growth. It also faces a US$1.7-trillion annual infrastructure financing gap that will rely heavily on private capital to close. For Canadian companies, Asia and the Pacific is not a distant market. It is an investable opportunity and increasingly a strategic necessity.

Recent trade policy volatility and supply chain disruptions make the risk of concentration plain. For Canada, with 76 per cent of its exports flowing to the United States, diversifying markets and suppliers is sound risk management. Asia and the Pacific offers diversification with scale and momentum.

Canadian companies are global leaders in clean technology, infrastructure, digital........

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