Page 910 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 20 March 2019
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Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal People’s Congress. Our hosts were very happy to receive a delegation from their sister city, especially as our meeting coincided with Canberra Day. The sister city relationship is now in its 20th year, following its establishment by the Carnell Liberal government in 1999.
We then travelled to the Beijing Airport economic core zone, where we witnessed firsthand the freight and logistics capabilities of the companies working within the zone and the government initiative to promote trade and stimulate growth.
On Tuesday we travelled on the high-speed rail, at over 360 kilometres an hour, to Shanghai, where we were received by the Deputy Director-General of Foreign Affairs for the People’s Government of Shanghai municipality. We later visited the Exhibition of the Opening-up of Pudong in Shanghai’s free trade zone. In a short time, Pudong has grown into a thriving economic hub, with a strong focus on emerging technologies.
The following day our delegation travelled to Fuzhou. We were welcomed by the Fujian provincial government. The Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Fujian Provincial People’s Congress and I spoke at length about the industriousness of the Fujian province and the opportunities there are for Canberra and the ACT to build ties.
On Thursday we met with the Vice President of the Fujian People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries at the Fujian Foreign Affairs Office, where we continued our discussions on what each of our cities has to offer each other and the region.
A personal highlight for me was our visit to the Fuzhou Overseas Chinese Middle School, where we had a tour led by students. The school is a credit to the principal, staff, board and students. I hope that we can further promote our local high schools and universities, especially by way of student exchanges and teacher exchanges with China and other countries. We then met with the Deputy Director-General of the Fujian Provincial Health Commission, who took us on a tour of a residential aged-care facility and hospital, where we talked with the residents and observed the facilities.
For the final leg of our delegation, we visited Xiamen, and met with the chief marketing and sales officer of Xiamen Airlines to promote the benefits of direct flights from Xiamen to Canberra. The delegation then visited Xiamen University and met with the senior vice president. Given that education is the ACT’s largest export, the visit was very productive and thought provoking about how we can build upon the existing links that our tertiary institutions have abroad.
Our final meeting was with the Xiamen municipal government. The Vice Chairwoman of the Standing Committee of the Xiamen Municipal People’s Congress was very engaging and knowledgeable about the economic benefits of ties between our cities. We also had the opportunity to visit the historic island just off Xiamen.
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