Jim Turnour (Leichhardt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Trade. Will the minister advise the House—

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Leichhardt seems to have a fan club that gees him on every time. Please, can he get his question out.

Jim Turnour (Leichhardt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Will the minister advise the House of the outcomes from his recent visit to China and any implications for Australia’s trade and economic performance?

Simon Crean (Hotham, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am in his fan club because he is a very strong advocate for his area of the importance of trade, in particular the relationship with China. The recent visit had three purposes. The first was the annual economic dialogue that we engage in with China, now Australia’s largest trading partner and the fastest growing nation in the world. As nations, our two economic areas of activity are intricately entwined. The economic dialogue provided the opportunity not just to review where we are at but also to talk about how we could strengthen that relationship, in particular diversify it. We had good discussions about opportunities in the services sector and in advanced manufacturing. It was a very rewarding dialogue indeed.

The second part of the visit was to continue what we have referred to as the second-track approach to China. Members would be aware that we have not yet been able to conclude the free trade agreement, but we are making progress. The important thing though is that we have not let this deter us from looking for commercial opportunities in key regions and key cities in China. I visited the Shandong province and the governor from that province is going to visit this country later this year. They are very keen to develop an MOU with the Australian government as a region on the basis of key areas of their interest. We look forward to that visit. That engagement with the Shandong province builds on many more engagements that we have already had and under which we have signed six MOUs with various cities and regions within China.

The third dimension of the visit was to visit the Australian pavilion at the largest expo ever held in the world being held in Shanghai at the moment. The Australian pavilion is a magnificent structure. It was formally opened by the foreign minister. This pavilion is now receiving up to 40,000 visitors a day, close to 800,000 visitors have already gone through and the Australian draw on a daily basis is in the order of 15 to 20 per cent. It is one of the most visited pavilions in the whole of the expo site. Beyond it being a striking feature and a drawcard in its own right, the Australian pavilion has been an important platform on which Australia has engaged some of the key sectors I have spoken of before. We conducted forums in relation to financial services, sustainable building and urban design, as well as the auto sector. Sustainable building is a vital area of opportunity. In the next two decades, China is going to have to house 300 million people. This will be the biggest urban development in the history of the world and they are looking to countries such as Australia to advise them on smart buildings, clean energy, recycling and clever design. So those platforms are particularly important. The expo also provided us with the opportunity to launch internationally ‘Brand Australia’, an exciting new concept which will present, in a multifaceted way, the great things Australia does on so many different fronts. More than just a tourist destination, this is a great place to invest, to do business and to trade on so many fronts.

It was a very worthwhile visit. There will be many more to that part of the world. China, as I said at the outset, is our largest trading partner at the moment. It is going to have a significant bearing on the economic future of this country, as is Australia on theirs.