Monday, 11 April 2016 00:00
Reuters: Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who last month criticised Chinese military deployments in the South China Sea, leads 1,000 business leaders to China this week, hoping to build on a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries.
Turnbull will hold talks with both President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing, hoping to capitalise on China’s transition from an export-based economy to a major consumer spender, his office said on Friday.
It did not say if the South China Sea would be on the agenda, but China’s assertiveness in its claims to most of the waters has raised concerns in the West and among China’s neighbours.
Western capitals have criticised China for militarising the South China Sea with the deployment of advanced weaponry there. China says the United States is militarising the region with its frequent patrols.
Turnbull last month called China’s military deployments “counterproductive”, an unusually forceful rebuke.
China claims most of the South China Sea, where about $5 trillion of ship-borne trade passes every year. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan also have claims.
The trade visit - the largest ever by an Australian leader - comes amid a slowing of growth in the Chinese economy, which is crucial for Australian jobs.
The FTA came into effect in December, cutting tariffs across many economic sectors.
“The China-Australia FTA has opened up even more opportunities for trade and engagement between our two countries,” Turnbull’s office said in a statement.
“As China continues its transition towards a more consumer-led and services-based economy, more and more Australian businesses are finding new markets and new opportunities in China.”
A delegation of 15 corporate chief executives from each country will join a round table headed by the Business Council of Australia and the China Development Bank. The prime minister’s office declined to name the companies taking part.
As Chinese visitors to Australia rise, Turnbull will also launch a new Tourism Australia promotion in Shanghai.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at the Australia Week in China, Gala Lunch
14th April 2016
PRIME MINISTER:
[Salutations]
Australia Week in China 2016, bigger and better than ever. Welcome to all of you and thank you so much for being here.
It’s great to be back in Shanghai, here at the heart of the most exciting economic transformation of modern times. A city Lucy and I have visited many times, on business, on holiday, visiting our son Alex when he was studying Chinese here at the Jiaotong University, Jiaotong Dashwe in 2001.
And it’s even better being here with nearly two thousand Australian and Chinese business people, what a statement of the incredible scale and reach and enduring potential of our economic partnership.
And while I am long out of the business world, being here among so many enterprising men and women, I recall the exciting days more than twenty years ago when I was busy working in China myself seeking co-investment opportunities and establishing what has since become a large zinc and gold mine at Caijiaying near Zhangjiakou in Hebei Province.
Before I talk about our plan for making the most of our opportunities together, I want to emphasise that the foundation of Australia’s engagement with China and this city, is far deeper, broader and richer than often imagined.
If we hold up the mirror of history to guide the policies of today; as the great Song Dynasty historian Sima Guang says we should, then the clues are written in the architecture of this great city. One of the oldest, grandest buildings on the main shopping boulevard, Nanjing Road, is the five-story Sincere Department Store. It may surprise many of you that it was built by a Sydney man, Ma Ying-piu, almost exactly a hundred years ago in 1917. And if you walk further east along Nanjing Road, towards the Peace Hotel, where we were this morning, you’ll come to another grand old department store, the six storey one on the corner of Zhejiang Road, which was built one year later by another Sydney family.
In fact there are four grand old department stores, all still standing on the Nanjing Road, and all built by Chinese-Australians between the two world wars. In their time the Four Great Companies, as they were known, dominated the Shanghai skyline, with their great spires and gleaming lights.
Each one was built taller and grander than the last. Competitiveness is another enduring characteristic of Australian Chinese entrepreneurs.
You will recognise them because the architecture was modelled on the Anthony Hordern New Palace Emporium, in Sydney’s Haymarket, which was for a while the largest department store in the world.
And the reason they dominated the Shanghai retail market was that that they brought with them Anthony Hordern innovations, including fixed-prices, glass display cabinets and most importantly a very egalitarian service model which stressed respect for every individual customer, a very Australian characteristic. Wei ren men fu wu, indeed.
Today, of course, the modern Shanghai skyline has sprouted more than 1300 steel-reinforced skyscrapers, more than any other city in the planet. And Australia has helped shape this skyline, all that steel was made with help, in many cases of Australian architects, Australian engineers and of course, Australian iron ore. And this demand for Australian resources, across this great nation of 1.4 billion people, has underpinned the greatest run of unbroken prosperity Australians have ever known.
Our two-way trade accounts were worth $150 billion last year, making up about a third of our total exports. In 1990, 2 in every 3 Chinese people lived below the World Bank’s poverty line, now that figure is about, or less than 1 in ten. The scale and pace of China’s transformation in little more than a generation is utterly unprecedented in human history.
Now, however, as we know, China is transitioning away from a heavy reliance on construction and resource-intensive industry. This means a better deal, from wages to deposit rates, for Chinese households, purchasing power to the people. This rebalancing is as necessary as it has been inevitable. It’s been advocated or foreshadowed by Chinese leaders in each of the last three five-year plans.
And this structural change drives parallel changes in our own economy. Australia’s terms of trade have fallen by a third since China’s shift away from resource-intensive industrial growth began in earnest five years ago. Our own investment in resource construction projects has halved as a share of GDP, since reaching a record peak of nearly 8 per cent. That was always going to happen, it was also inevitable.
And the challenges and opportunities presented by these deep structural change explain why every element of my government’s economic plan is working to continue our successful transition to a stronger, more diversified, more innovative 21st century economy.
Everything we’re doing, innovation, competition, trade and infrastructure is focused on powering jobs and economic growth.
Now the good news is that we are most of the way through the greatest terms of trade shock in our history. And our economic data tell a story of remarkable resilience. 300,000 jobs created last year alone and real GDP growth of 3%.
And today as we have just seen, unemployment has declined again, to 5.7% with over 26,000 new jobs created in the last month. That’s good news, but we cannot afford to be complacent. We have to get our policies right to be more productive, more competitive, more innovative.
It is with these objectives in mind that we embrace all of the extraordinary opportunities presented by China’s own economic transition towards a more consumption-driven economy.
And it is a thoroughly 21st century consumer economy. China has embraced e-commerce at an unprecedented pace. Chinese companies including Alibaba and JD.com, are world leading e-commerce platforms, which provide access to this market for small and medium-size Australian exporters, as well as large ones, many of whom are represented here today.
Already it’s estimated the Chinese e-commerce market is larger than that of the United States. I was pleased to attend JD.com’s Australian launch, and we look forward, as I am sure do Chinese consumers, to the continued smooth implementation of recent regulatory changes affecting e-commerce.
And our parallel economic transitions explain why it was so important that we delivered the China Australia Free trade Agreement, the highest quality free trade agreement China has entered into with any comparable nation.
Negotiated by Andrew Robb who is here today - the most successful Trade Minister in Australia’s history, and now inspiring his successor.
[APPLAUSE]
Where is Andrew? There he is.
[APPLAUSE]
And now he inspires his successor Trade Minister Steve Ciobo who is also here with Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg and Tourism Minister Richard Colbeck.
I am honoured to be the first Australian Prime Minister to come to China since this transformative agreement came into force only months ago. I am here to help Australian exporter’s open doors which had been locked.
Already, ChAFTA is injecting new energy and ambition into our own economy. It’s adding strength, breadth and dynamism to the relationship between our two peoples. And the early export gains have been extraordinary. Beef and dairy exporters have captured the headlines, but they are closely followed by the cherry farmers of Tasmania, the cray fishermen of Geraldton and wine producers across the country.
Just ask the proprietor of Seppeltsfield Wines, Warren Randall, who will be exporting tariff-free wine to China within three years. He says, and I quote, “The China FTA is the most important development in wine marketing in the 39 years I’ve been in this business.”
And as Andrew knows, there will be even bigger gains in services. Lawyers, educators, financial service providers, engineers, designers, planners, architects, all will find it now much easier to do business in China. The potential is enormous, and that's why for example 134 representatives of our aged-care and health sectors are with us here today.
China numbers, as we know, are always very big, and so let’s break them down one city. A very big city indeed, this one.
Last year Shanghai alone purchased $14.5 billion worth of Australian goods, led by iron ore and wool. That’s just merchandise trade and it doesn’t count the 11,000 Shanghainese now studying in Australian schools, colleges and universities. Nor does it count the US$5 billion in two-way investment between Shanghai and Australia.
The new generation of Chinese investors including Shanghai companies like Baosteel and Bright Foods. And Greenland Group and other Chinese developers who are adding to our housing stock in our biggest cities.
And the investment is not just one way. Julie Jackson, who I was with earlier today with Lucy, The Managing Director of the aged-care firm AVEO, has just opened the first stage of a 2500 resident retirement village near Hongqiao airport, where we arrived this morning. Her firm’s competitive advantage, she says, “it's innovation in this market, is bringing a very personalised care and respect to all of their customers. It's the same customer-focussed, serve-the-people, culture that led those earlier investors to do so well nearly a century ago over on the Nanjing Road.
But we have to work harder, much harder, to strengthen and expand these business links, as our economies continue to transition. That’s why we have to extend our Innovation Agenda to help Australian start-ups and leading research organisations link to the world.
To do this we are establishing a landing pad here in Shanghai, which will provide innovative Australian entrepreneurs with physical space and access to networks and expertise. And we are forging even stronger tourism ties with China, which has grown to become Australia's most valuable tourism market almost overnight.
Last year more than 1 million Chinese visitors holidayed in Australia, spending more than $8 billion. And now that China has proclaimed, next year together with us to be the ‘Australia-China Year of Tourism’ I can safely wager that our hotels, our restaurants, our tour operators will soon be investing in new capacity to meet that new demand.
We’re doing our bit by introducing streamlined and online visa processes. This morning I launched Tourism Australia’s new digital platform, opening up on the 700 million smart phones here in China the prospect of an exciting visit to Australia.
They say that all politics is personal, well so is business. And in the digital age, with the ability to tailor services and messages to the individual consumer, accessing China’s new marketing opportunities require strong partners, good local knowledge and building trust.
So we have to be more agile and work harder and smarter. We have to continue to attract talented people from China who are making our society not only more prosperous, but also the most successful multicultural society in the world.
Australia’s multicultural society is bound together by shared values, freedom, democracy and the rule-of-law. And the glue that binds us all together is mutual respect.
Our diversity is our greatest strength. We are enriched by that diversity, not divided. And that’s what makes us a truly global nation. A truly 21st century, global nation.
More than one million people in Australia today have Chinese ancestry. And half a million people in Australia were born in China. More Australians are learning Chinese language, understanding Chinese history and culture.
There is a higher proportion of Chinese-born people in Australia now than at any time since, well, since the mid-19th century gold rush, when the Ma family first arrived in Victoria and began accumulating the capital they later invested in that first great department store here in Shanghai in 1917.
In the post resource construction-boom, we come to China with similar skills and endowments as those early Australian investors; innovation, a global mindset and the long investment horizons which come from transparent markets and the rule-of-law.
China’s own long journey towards open markets and rule-of-law will be well worth the challenges along the way.
And we should remember, as I conclude, the wisdom of Deng Xiaoping after his Southern Tour in 1984, of the Shenzhen Economic Zone, which President Xi Jinping’s own father, Xi Zhongxun, had established five years before. When Deng returned to the capital he invoked the voyages of Admiral Zheng and observed that China had been strong and prosperous when it had been open to the world.
Speaking to the Central Advisory Committee in 1984 he said this: “A closed-door policy prevents any country from developing. We suffered from isolation, and so did our forefathers…the lessons of the past tell us that if we don't open to the outside we can't make much headway.” He said, when China was closed to the world it was weak and subject to oppression, when it was open to the world it was strong and embraced the opportunities of the world. Freedom, enterprise, open markets, rule-of-law embrace of the global community in all its diversity, those are the qualities that deliver progress, rising living standards and growth.
The growth in our region, especially here in China, reflect the hard work of hundreds of millions of people forging a brighter future for themselves, their families and generations to come.
It is a story of human ingenuity and tenacity. And it’s a story about how our two countries have changed, and changed each other, in ways that are leading to more jobs, more growth, more investment, more prosperity, more ability for each of us, each of both your huge population and our population too, all Australians and Chinese, better able to realise their dreams.
As you say here in China, the flames rise high when everybody adds wood to the fire: Zhòngrén shí chái huǒyen gāo [众人拾柴火焰高]. Thank you very much. Ends
Taxpayers to fund PM's $300,000 lunch with China's rich and powerful
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will enjoy lunch with some of China's richest and more powerful people when he visits Shanghai on Thursday but Australian taxpayers will be picking up the nearly $300,000 bill.
Mr Turnbull will deliver the keynote address at the Australia Week in China gala lunch as part of his first prime ministerial visit to the middle kingdom.
The lunch is the grand finale of the week-long event designed to showcase Australian trade, investment and tourism opportunities.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will give the keynote address at a gala lunch to be attended by 1800 guests. Photo: Janie BarrettBut it won't be cheap.
Government contract documents reveal Austrade - and therefore taxpayers - will pay the five-star Grand Hyatt Hotel $284,962 to cater for the lunch. That comes on top of a $265,000 bill for venue hire at the Shanghai Expo Centre, although the lunch is only one of a number of events being held there throughout the week.
And it's costing significantly more than the same event in 2014. The first AWIC gala lunch, - attended by former prime minister Tony Abbott - cost about $230,000 for venue hire and catering, according to official documents.
This year's Australia Week in China gala lunch is costing significantly more than 2014's gala lunch. Photo: Wally Santana
The lunch will be attended by about 1800 people, costing approximately $160 a head.
The crowd will consist of a 1000-strong Australian business delegation led by Trade Minister Steve Ciobo and about 800 Chinese businesspeople and government figures.
The menu will "showcase Australian products", an Austrade spokesman said.
Illustration: Matt Golding
"Australia enjoys a strong reputation in China but the Chinese market remains fiercely competitive," the spokesman said.
"AWIC 2016 will help position Australian companies to take maximum advantage of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement."
Mr Turnbull's office referred questions about the lunch to Austrade.
Mr Turnbull is set to travel to Beijing for official meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang. Photo: Janie Barrett
Taxpayers are also being charged for a range of other events across 12 Chinese cities during the week.
Conference and meeting room hire in a range of hotels will cost at least $180,000, in addition to the expo centre contract.
There is also $20,000 for graphic design and "brand identity", $32,000 for photo and film editing, $21,000 for bus rental, $27,000 for AV equipment, $12,000 for Wi-Fi and $10,000 for marketing.
Mr Turnbull is on his first official visit to China as Prime Minister.Photo: Edgar Su
That means taxpayers will be charged at least $850,000 - but that doesn't include travel or costs for the prime minister and his entourage, or for Mr Ciobo, special trade envoy Andrew Robb or their teams.
AWIC involves more than 140 events including seminars, round-tables, site visits and product showcases in cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Shenyang, Shenzhen and Guangzhou.
It's the first such event to take place since the free trade agreement came into force in December last year.
Austrade says the first event helped generate about $1 billion in export sales and $3 billion in investment. China is Australia's largest trading partner, with two-way trade valued at $150 billion last year.
After the lunch, Mr Turnbull will travel to Beijing for official meetings with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang. They will discuss the Australia-China relationship as well as a range of regional and global issues.
"澳大利亚周·中国2016" 携最大规模商务代表团访华
发布时间 : 2016-04-12 05:04:07
http://www.ironfishchina.com/News/news_1_1/id/235
4月11日至15日“澳大利亚周·中国2016”在北京、上海、广州、深圳、成都等10个城市举行,覆盖澳大利亚的八大重点领域,包括农业、国际教育、金融服务、医疗健康与养老、高端食品饮料及消费品、科技创新、城市可持续发展及水资源管理及旅游业。量身定制的经贸活动包括研讨会、洽谈会、实地考察及其他交流活动。4月14日,澳大利亚总理马尔科姆·特恩布尔 (Malcolm Turnbull) 将启动其就任总理后的首次访华,并盛邀中澳两国政府领导、行业代表、企业高层出席在上海举办的 2016 “澳大利亚周·中国” 午宴,把本次双边经贸活动推向高潮。
乔博在接受本报记者采访时表示:“非常高兴能率领澳大利亚史上最大规模的商务代表团访问中国,参加‘澳大利亚周·中国2016’活动。代表团的规模展现出了澳大利亚工商界期待与中国合作的热情,也显示出澳中自贸协定的积极影响。”
中澳企业家一同参加午宴
中国是“非常理想的经贸合作伙伴”
据悉,“澳大利亚周·中国2016”将举行超过150场活动,涵盖农业、教育、金融、医疗健康、消费品、科技创新等众多领域,经贸活动包括研讨会、洽谈会、实地考察等,预计将为澳大利亚带来超过10亿澳元(1澳元约合4.9元人民币)的出口和30亿澳元的投资。乔博表示,希望通过该活动进一步提高澳大利亚的就业率,加快经济增长速度。
目前,中国是澳大利亚第一大贸易伙伴、第一大出口市场、进口来源地和服务贸易出口目的地;澳大利亚是中国第二大海外投资目的地。两国经济互补性强,澳大利亚从中国正在进行的经济结构调整中获益。去年12月,中澳自由贸易协定正式生效,为澳大利亚经济增添了活力,并带动澳大利亚从过度依赖矿业的较单一经济模式向多元经济模式转型。
在乔博看来,中澳自贸协定奠定了未来澳中经贸关系的基础,将大大提升双边贸易和投资。“澳大利亚把中国视为一个非常理想的经贸合作伙伴。”他告诉本报记者,澳中自贸协定生效后,澳大利亚产品进入中国市场开始享受税费减免,更多羊肉、葡萄酒进入青岛和天津,冷冻牛肉进入厦门,煤炭进入宁波和珠海,海产品空运至广州。两国商界已经从自贸协定中获益。澳大利亚企业家普遍表示,他们与中国的贸易量在持续增加,希望能满足中国消费者对世界级产品和服务的需求。
中国商务部国际贸易经济合作研究院世界经济研究所所长、研究员梁艳芬对本报记者表示,澳大利亚派出如此庞大的经贸代表团访问中国,正是看到了中澳自贸协定给澳大利亚带来的巨大利益和商机。她说,中澳自贸协定正式生效仅4个月的时间,已产生了实质性效果。受中澳自贸协定达成的积极影响,2015年中国对澳大利亚出口403.8亿美元,增长3.2%;自澳大利亚进口651.4亿美元,尽管有所下降,但中澳个别产品贸易额出现突破性增长,如中国自澳大利亚进口的谷物增长23.5%,药品增长30.7%,蔬菜增长5.8倍,各类食品增长4倍多。面对全球经济总体疲弱的大环境,正是中澳自贸区促使两国贸易取得这样不俗的成绩。
自贸协定为企业带来实实在在好处
中澳自贸协定增强了两国发展经济的信心。据澳大利亚国际经济研究中心预测,中澳自贸协定将拉动澳大利亚国内生产总值增长0.7个百分点,拉动中国经济增长0.1个百分点。澳大利亚工商界领袖普遍看好中国经济机遇,因此对到中国参加此次活动非常踊跃。
彼得·奥斯本是澳大利亚保健品企业澳佳宝亚太区首席执行官,是到中国参加“澳大利亚周”活动的众多企业家之一。他告诉本报记者,中国业务是澳佳宝的重要部分,“我们在北京设立了全资子公司,在上海设立了分公司,产品遍布中国”。据悉,澳佳宝在中国设立了3000多个分销点,已经建立起包括连锁药店、高端超市、电视购物、网上商店和企业销售在内的全渠道销售网络。
奥斯本说,此次到中国的目的就是进一步展示公司产品的质量,更好地了解中国消费者的需求。“中国市场为澳佳宝和其他澳大利亚保健品企业提供了巨大的商机,相信通过参加在中国举行的‘澳大利亚周’活动,公司在中国的品牌形象和知名度一定会得到进一步提升,在中国市场的销售网络也会得到进一步拓展。”
奥斯本认为,澳中自贸协定对澳大利亚企业来说是极大的利好,关税降低或减免为澳大利亚企业提供了更加开放的进入中国市场的渠道,“与中国合作将在未来数十年对澳大利亚的经济发展产生积极影响”。
澳大利亚杰拉尔顿渔民合作社首席执行官韦恩·霍斯金也将随团到中国。他在接受本报记者采访时表示,澳中自贸协定为两国企业开展贸易提供了重要机遇。“目前,澳大利亚活龙虾进入中国已经享受两轮降税,增加了澳大利亚海产品在中国市场上的竞争力。我们正在和中国合作伙伴共同规划,争取在2019年降至零关税前,确立在中国市场上的领先地位。”
四大因素让中澳自贸区发展空间广阔
尽管现在评判中澳自贸区效果还为时尚早,但中澳自贸区未来发展空间大,这主要来自于中澳自贸区合作领域涉及面广,两国合作方式与以往自贸区有实质性突破。
“中澳自贸区为两国找到了未来经济合作新模式。”梁艳芬表示,首先,中澳自贸区在内容上涵盖货物、服务、投资等十几个领域,实现了“全面、高质量和利益平衡”的目标,是中国迄今已商签的贸易投资自由化整体水平最高的自贸协定之一。其次,在服务贸易领域,澳方承诺自协定生效时对中方以负面清单方式开放服务部门,成为世界上首个对中国以负面清单方式做出服务贸易承诺的国家,中国则以正面清单方式向澳方开放服务部门。第三,在人员流动上,明确规定了绿色通道、签证办理、相关配额的细则,便利了劳务输出,增加了签证数量。第四,在电子商务方面,有专门的电子商务条款,如电子交易免征关税,为在线消费者和在线数据提供保护、电子签字互认等内容,均将推动企业降低交易成本、提高贸易效率。
乔博说,澳大利亚与中国经济存在很大的互补性,在自贸协定的推动下,未来两国经贸关系的广度和深度都将得到持续拓展。澳中自贸协定在逐渐带动两国服务行业的交流合作。“服务业占澳大利亚经济比重的75%,我们要确保服务业出口进一步扩大。”在投资方面,澳大利亚希望让中国企业家们看到澳对外国投资持开放态度,澳大利亚会谨慎平衡外国投资与本国安全的问题。“澳大利亚欢迎中国投资,这符合澳国家利益。”
顾比·戴若是澳大利亚全球金融市场分析师,也是澳大利亚中国工商业委员会北部省分会的会长,与中国市场打交道已经有14年之久。他与中国多家机构和公司建立了合作关系,研究成果受到澳大利亚政府机构和中澳两国公司的关注。在前往中国参加“澳大利亚周”活动前,他对本报记者说,自贸协定为他在中国的业务提供了新的机遇,他希望两国政府部门进一步出台政策,在操作层面上进一步理顺有关环节。
2016“澳大利亚周·中国” 进一步扩大中澳自由贸易协定影响
时间 : 2016-04-16 09:50 来源 : 中国葡萄酒资讯网 作者 : 顾燕君
澳大利亚总理马尔科姆·特恩布尔(Malcolm Turnbull )致辞
2016年4月14日,在澳大利亚贸易和投资部长史蒂文·乔博(Steven Ciobo)的率领下,2016“澳大利亚周·中国”系列经贸活动明天将落下帷幕。1000多位来自澳大利亚八大行业领域的代表访问了中国的12个城市,参与150多场活动。本届2016“澳大利亚周·中国”见证了中澳企业和机构间覆盖多产业领域的商贸合作契机。中澳自由贸易协定于2015年12月正式开始实施,本次最大规模澳大利亚经贸代表团访问将成为澳中两国现有紧密双边合作的又一里程碑,帮助中国政府和企业深入了解澳大利亚在八大主要行业领域的实力,促进双方企业的对接和交流,使双边经贸合作更趋多元化 。
澳大利亚和中国在经济发展上存在互补性,2016“澳大利亚周·中国”八大行业代表了未来极具发展潜力的领域,包括农业、国际教育、金融服务、医疗健康与养老、高端食品饮料及消费品、科技创新、城市可持续发展及水资源管理及旅游业。中国和澳大利亚的企业和机构通过参加研讨会、洽谈会以及实地考察,深入探讨双方潜在合作机会和合作领域。
活动期间,不同代表团分别到访了中国的几大主要城市,包括北京、沈阳、厦门和广州等。代表团成员今天齐聚上海,共同出席由澳大利亚总理马尔科姆·特恩布尔(Malcolm Turnbull)主持的2016“澳大利亚周·中国”午宴。除了来自澳大利亚的代表团成员,中国知名企业高层、高级政府官员、行业专家及创新、投资、企业发展等领域的意见领袖同时出席此次午宴。
2016“澳大利亚周·中国”午宴
今天在上海签署了多项合作协议,覆盖教育、高端食品和饮料、基础设施发展、科技创新、农业服务和技术、医疗健康和养老、生物科技、环境保护和资产管理等多个领域。达成合作协议的中澳企业和机构包括华西希望集团和自由食品集团、中国城市发展基金会和澳大利亚基础建设可持续发展委员会、华东理工大学和澳大利亚联邦科学与工业研究组织等。
澳大利亚贸易和投资部长史蒂文·乔博(Steven Ciobo)表示:“相比2014年,2016‘澳大利亚周·中国’取得了更为丰硕的成果。首届‘澳大利亚周·中国’积极促进了澳大利亚的贸易和投资发展,实现了10亿澳元的出口额以及由活动引入的30亿澳元投资。2016‘澳大利亚周·中国‘庞大的成员规模证明了澳大利亚企业和商业机构对与中国开展合作的满怀期待,同时也彰显了中澳自由贸易协定(ChAFTA)通过改善市场准入权限和零关税政策为中澳商业合作带来新机遇的深远影响。”
中澳自由贸易协定于2015年12月正式开始实施,为中澳两国未来经济往来奠定了历史性的基础,中澳自由贸易协定将帮助提高澳大利亚优质产品和服务在中国的竞争力,为中国进出口企业及投资商提供更多机会并给广大消费者带来丰富的选择。
2016“澳大利亚周·中国”亮点纷呈,其中首次亮相的科技创新代表团将促进澳中双方就快速发展的创新生态系统进行合作交流。澳大利亚和中国在科学、研发以及科技创新方面已经合作了40多年。双方经济存在互补性,且同样重视创新及研发。澳大利亚政府每年在科技创新、研发方面都投入了大量的资金,2014-2015年投入资金高达97亿澳元,并在2015年年底宣布总投资11亿澳元的国家创新和科学计划(NISA)。而中国国民经济发展蓝图的“十三五”规划同样把创新视为经济发展的重要驱动力,并鼓励中国企业通过科技创新获得持续发展。
中国是澳大利亚最大的留学生市场,根据2016年3月发布的国际学生注册数据统计显示,2015年来自中国的学生注册总数逾17万,占所有国际学生注册总数的26%,再次成为最大的国际学生群体。2016“澳大利亚周·中国”期间,国际教育代表团对中国现有人力资源需求及通过职业培训和网络及互动培训培养未来人才的需求有了更深入的了解,这些领域正是澳大利亚的优势所在。
随着中国银行业及金融服务业进行人民币国际化、利率市场化、建立私人银行等一系列改革, 澳大利亚金融服务代表团到访了上海和香港这两大金融中心,进一步了解中国在金融服务领域的相关政策。代表团也通过参与研讨会获得了关于中国财富管理发展趋势、养老基金系统及中国投资者青睐的资产投资等诸多方面的信息。澳大利亚管理着全球最大的基金库之一,代表团此行将借助中澳自由贸易协定允许澳大利亚金融服务机构进入中国的契机,积极与中方合作伙伴探索金融服务领域的协作,帮助深化现有的多项金融体制改革。
随着中国中产阶级群体的迅速成长,服务及消费已成为推动经济增长和城市化进程的新驱动力。通过2016“澳大利亚周·中国”活动,农业、高端食品饮料及消费品、医疗健康与养老、城市可持续发展及水资源管理行业代表获得了许多极具价值的信息,并与中国合作伙伴共同探讨如何发挥澳大利亚在这些领域的经验、知识、技术及培训,促进双方合作和投资关系深入发展。
旅游业代表团的一大亮点是推出“乐水‘澳’游”全球旅游推广活动,强调澳大利亚丰富的海洋遗产和海岸生活方式。去年,澳大利亚迎来超过100万中国游客,创历史新高。中国是澳大利亚最具价值的客源国市场,中国游客2015年在澳支出总额超过77亿澳元。中国游客赴澳旅游人数仍将持续增长,澳大利亚政府研究数据显示,澳大利亚已成为最受中国游客青睐的跨境旅游目的地。
中国是澳大利亚最大的合作伙伴,2014年至2015年,中澳双边贸易额超过1386亿澳元,而中国直接在澳大利亚的投资额也高达约300亿澳元,该数字正保持快速增长。澳大利亚已经成为中国第7大贸易合作伙伴。
澳大利亚贸易委员会高级商务专员、中国区总经理兼澳大利亚驻上海副总领事柯迈高(Michael Clifton)表示:“通过2016‘澳大利亚周·中国‘,我们十分期待澳大利亚的企业和机构能与更多中国合作伙伴紧密协作,共同促进中国未来发展和经济繁荣。”
关于2016“澳大利亚周·中国”
在澳大利亚贸易和投资部长的率领下,2016“澳大利亚周·中国”(4月11日-4月15日)将聚集澳大利亚1000多位政府官员、行业代表和企业高层参与,成为最大规模访华的澳大利亚商务代表团。活动将覆盖澳大利亚八大重点领域,包括农业、国际教育、金融服务、医疗健康与养老、高端食品饮料及消费品、科技创新、城市可持续发展及水资源管理及旅游业。代表团将到访中国的12个城市,包括北京、上海、广州、深圳、成都、香港、杭州、沈阳、厦门、乌镇、嘉兴及苏州。量身定制的150多场交流活动包括贸易和投资研讨会、商务洽谈会、实地考察、产品展示等,为中澳企业、行业和政府对接洽谈提供机会。
关于澳大利亚贸易委员会
澳大利亚贸易委员会(简称澳贸委,即澳大利亚驻华使领馆商务处)是澳大利亚政府的官方贸易、投资、教育和旅游发展促进机构。通过我们的全球网络,协助澳大利亚公司成功拓展国际业务,吸引有效外商直接投资澳大利亚,并把澳大利亚的优质教育推广到世界各地。澳大利亚贸易委员会在澳大利亚拥有一个庞大的,覆盖全国的分支机构并在海外超过55个国家设有100个海外办事处及机构。澳大利亚贸易委员会在中国拥有最大的外国政府网络——通过在全国各地的11个办事机构提供服务。澳大利亚贸易委员会为澳大利亚出口企业提供一系列全面服务,帮助澳大利亚出口企业建立和发展国际业务;为国外投资者提供在澳大利亚投资或扩大业务所需的信息;并帮助国外买家寻找合适的澳大利亚供应商、协助他们访问澳大利亚与供应商进行会谈。