Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question. The honourable member has a deep understanding of China, its people and culture, having worked in China for many years. He understands just how significant trade, including trade with China, is for jobs, opportunities and investment in Australia. We heard today from the Chinese Premier about the remarkable new opportunities that are being opened up for our exporters. We will have more to say about that tomorrow. He identified the huge opportunities for increased exports of chilled beef—a massive opportunity for our farmers, providing more jobs and more support for regional Australia.

We welcome Premier Li and his wife, Professor Cheng Hong, here. We have built on a remarkable connection between Australia and China going back hundreds of years. It is accelerating now with the opportunities created by the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement. This is an agreement that has created and now built on $150 billion worth of two-way trade. Last year alone, Australia exported $86 billion in goods and services to China. This is creating so many opportunities. Of course we want 24 million Australians to buy Australian, but we also want 1.4 billion Chinese to buy Australian. Demand for 'made in Australia', for the quality of our fresh produce and services, has never been higher. Last year we exported enough iron ore to China to build Sydney Harbour bridges from Perth to Sydney and then back.

But it is not just about resources. Our universities and services sector are helping the Chinese economy continue its transition from one based on investment to one based on consumption. Our people-to-people ties grow stronger all the time. We are home to a growing Chinese-Australian community, a growing Chinese expatriate community. Nearly 200,000 Chinese students call Australia home each year. This enormous growth in trade, in goods, in wine, in beef, in minerals, in services, in education and in design is all being supercharged by the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, which was vehemently opposed by the trade union movement, particularly the CFMEU, and described as 'a dud deal' by the Labor Party, which engaged in a shameful campaign to try to block it.

Mr Bowen interjecting—

Mr Brendan O'Connor interjecting—

Right around the country, jobs are being created, businesses are growing and opportunities are growing because of the great deal we have with China and the relationship that we are strengthening every day. The opposition should support it, not stand in the way.

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