Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Hansard source

For the information of honourable members I present the report of the Australian Parliamentary Delegation to China from 26 June to 1 July. It was my privilege to lead this delegation, which comprised the member for Banks, Mr David Coleman MP; the member for Solomon, Mr Luke Gosling MP; the member for Fadden, the Hon. Stuart Robert MP; and Senators Dean Smith and Murray Watt. A biennial visit to the People's Republic of China, hosted by the Chinese government, has been included as part of the Australian parliamentary delegations outgoing program for a number of years now. Its purpose is to undertake the annual dialogue that forms part of our parliament's memorandum of understanding with the National People's Congress. This was a productive and successful delegation in which all members played an active role in a series of high-level meetings and official business visits.

On the day of arrival, Tuesday 27 June, the delegation visited the Beijing headquarters of JD.com, the largest business-to-consumer online direct sales company in China, and met the company's corporate vice-president, Mr Jerome Ma. The visit provided an opportunity for the delegation to understand the scale of ecommerce in China and to become informed about opportunities for Australian companies in this rapidly developing area. The delegation particularly benefited from a reception that evening, which was organised by the China-Australia Chamber of Commerce in Beijing. AustCham Beijing aims to advance Australia-China business relationships through building connections between its members and other business stakeholders. This was a valuable opportunity for the delegation to speak with Australian and Chinese business interests and to understand more clearly the challenges and opportunities for the many Australian businesses operating in China. I thank AustCham for its efforts in organising our meeting.

On the Wednesday, the delegation participated in three high-level meetings. The sixth meeting of the China-Australia bilateral parliamentary exchange mechanism was led from the Australian side by the member for Banks, David Coleman. Four topics for discussion had been agreed prior to the dialogue: bilateral relations between the two countries, the development of parliamentary and legal systems, economic and trade cooperation between China and Australia, and people-to-people exchanges. Each delegation member had an opportunity to outline the delegation's position in relation to each of the topics. The second exchange, led by me, took place in the Great Hall of the People and was conducted with Mr Zhang Dejiang, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee and chairman of the National People's Congress.

The delegation travelled to Shanghai on the Thursday and visited the Bright Dairy and Food Company, which is the second largest China based food manufacturing company. This visit gave the delegation an insight into the supply chain process, especially as it related to the Australian dairy industry. On Friday, the delegation visited the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall and met with the Chair of the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal People's Congress, Madam Yin.

All of the meetings, some of which I have not outlined here but details of which are contained in the report, gave members of the delegation an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the foreign policy context in which both countries are operating and continue the valuable building of closer parliament-to-parliament links.

On behalf of the travelling party, I would like to thank everyone who contributed to this successful delegation, in particular Mr Gerald Thomson, charge d'affaires, and his officers, at the Australian embassy in Beijing and Mr Graeme Meehan, the Consul-General in Shanghai. Thanks also to Raymond Knight and the International and Parliamentary Relations Office, who arranged travel and other details for the delegation, and the delegation's secretary, Tim Bryant, who assisted the committee with proficiency and diligence. Finally, I thank my colleagues for their participation in the meetings and their commitment to our program of work. I commend the report to the House.

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