Canada's federal government is set to open four new trade offices in China to boost the Asian exports of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

The four new offices will increase Canada's total missions in China to 15. This includes the Canadian embassy in Beijing, six existing trade headquarters, and four consulates general. The four new offices will be scattered all over the country and will target specific economic sectors based on their location, according to The Globe and Mail.

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Information tech and telecom are among the sectors being targeted by the Canadian trade offices.

On Monday, Trade Minister Ed Fast gave a speech in China explaining that the opening of the new offices will facilitate easier export transactions from Canada to the Asia Pacific region, with China as the priority target.

Since becoming the ruling party in 2006, the Conservatives have put up 21 trade offices. Ten are in China, five are in India, two are in Brazil, and four are located in other countries.

During his speech in Shanghai, Fast said the first Canadian foreign trade office in China was opened over 100 years ago and that they will soon have over 100 trade officials in the Asian country. He also said that the China-Canada trade has seen an average annual growth of 8.5% since 2005.

The Trade Minister also mentioned that Canada's resources and technologies could help address the pollution problems of China. He put special emphasis on the Canadian energy sector's interest in obtaining investment from Chinese companies, saying they help meet China's need for energy and other natural resources.

The China trade offices will work hand-in-hand with the newly-installed network of 25 trade commissioners in Canada. They will then be integrated into several businesses in Canada.

Fast said they are following Canada's Global Action Plan, which includes linking resources to priority markets and beefing up their trade commissioners' network.