Here's the strangest concept from Tuesday's port update by CBRM Mayor Cecil Clarke: To do business with the People's Republic of China, it is apparently vital to respect the rules of the private sector.

And one rule of the private sector in particular -- the one that says you must sign confidentiality agreements before you so much as look at private companies.

China, it is true, has managed a feat once thought impossible—adopting capitalism without democracy—but there is a through-the-looking-glass quality to the belief that the Mayor owes more loyalty to state-owned Chinese companies than he does to the citizens of the CBRM.

To his credit, Clarke did take a stab at “transparency” on Tuesday—you know, that thing he promised when running for office? The problem, as I see it, is that transparency does not come easily to him and his time in the company of corporate types and Communist officials has not helped him in that department.

But let's consider what he told a room of about 40 people at the Joan Harriss Cruise Pavilion on Tuesday:

He told us he'd been warmly welcomed in both Beijing and Dalian, China.

He told us he'd been “moved” by the television coverage of his visit to Dalian (which is to be our “sister port city,” although surely, given its 6.7 million population, it is our “big sister port city” if not our “Mama”).

He showed us a Mandarin newspaper headline he assured us was positive about his visit.

He showed us a promo video from the Chinese Communications Construction Company (CCCC) in which a large ship crashed through waves.

He showed us a photo of himself watching Albert Barbusci of Harbor Port Development (HPDP) partners inking an agreement with CCCC.

As to what was in this agreement, I have to admit, I don't know. I asked the Mayor, “What is the nature of the agreement between Harbor Port Development Partners and the Chinese Communications Construction Company?” but he didn't tell me. Apparently, telling would break the rules of the private sector. The Cape Breton Post is reporting that CCCC "plans to undertake the design and construction of Sydney’s container terminal including all required infrastructure," without explaining who will pay for this. If CCCC shares HPDP's predilection for working without payment, we can either thank our lucky stars for their generosity or wonder if we've hitched our wagon to the Worst. Businesspeople. Ever.

CCCC is big, I know that, and its projects are big, about that the Mayor was very clear. And CCCC “models” things or “models out” things. If you created a sound cloud of the Mayor's speech, the word “model” would appear in huge type. (And not modelling in a Kate Mossy way, in case you were wondering.)

I don't know what the working party from CCCC is going to be doing in Sydney for “eight to 10 months” from January 2016. I don't know whether CCCC is going to model our port or build our port or own our port or lease our port for 99 years. I don't know why HPDP is teaming with a company that the World Bank banned from its projects for eight years (beginning in 2009) for fraudulent practices (although at least it explains why CCCC might have some free time for the Port of Sydney). I don't know why, if the federal and provincial levels of government are so important to this project, no representative from either attended the meeting. I don't know why—if this super port is a serious possibility and will require a serious rail operator—the CBRM is messing around with Genesee & Wyoming instead of taking this marvellous opportunity to CN (or CP, for that matter, which is apparently looking at expanding). And I still don't know why the Mayor left for China without telling us where he was going.

But what I really don't know is how I can leave a 30-minute briefing knowing less than I did going in.