Canada and China

State firms accounted for the majority of Chinese oil and gas investments in Canada, said Chan. Since 2007, Chinese state enterprises have bought C$119 billion of Canadian oil and gas assets.

Since 2011, Chinese oil majors had invested C$27 billion in energy companies in the Canadian province of Alberta, said Gary Mar, the Alberta representative in Asia.

Canada had the world's third-largest crude oil reserves behind Venezuela and Saudi Arabia, which had the biggest, said Mar.

"There is still Chinese interest in Canadian oil and gas [assets], but they are looking at the regulations. From our point of view, we want that investment," said Mar.

It’s not exactly news that Canada ranks among the world's top five energy producers. Currently, it is the third largest gas producer and holds the third-largest proven oil reserves.

What is new, however, is that Canada for the first time last year became the top destination for Chinese investments abroad, beating out its southern neighbor, the US, the world’s biggest economy. While Chinese firms spent more than $20 billion in Canada—almost all of it in the energy sector—the US received just more than $10 billion, according to finance data specialist Dealogic.

In contrast to Canada’s traditional stance of openness in its FIPAs, all Canada-China arbitration cases—except the decision—are private.

That means that Ottawa can make arbitration cases against Canada public while Beijing can keep cases against China under wraps.