Venerable Canadian business magazine, Macleans, has a sobering story this week about what can happen when a starry-eyed Canadian firm thinks China is the land of golden opportunity. It turns out that Canadian firms and their investments in the booming eastern economy are -- to say the least -- tanking. Here is a must read quote from a former Canadian trade commissioner that frames the story:

Canadians aren't exactly seasoned global traders to begin with, preferring to do the bulk of their business with the U.S., if they leave Canada at all. Their cautious, trusting nature is in sharp contrast to Chinese culture, where the word for honest, loashi, is a derogatory term meaning to be gullible or to follow blindly. "You're better off going to Vegas for the weekend," says Jim Sherry, a former federal trade commissioner turned consultant. "You'll lose money just as fast and have more fun."