First China-Australia Provincial/State Leaders Forum Held in Sydney

In November， it was already winter in Beijing， but in Australia in the southern hemisphere it was early summer. The lush grass， pleasant climate plus the hosts’ hospitality warmed the Chinese guests from the far north.

On November 19， the CPAFFC， in cooperation with the New South Wales State Government， held the First China-Australia Provincial/State Leaders Forum in Sydney. Chinese President Xi Jinping， then on a state visit， and Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott addressed the closing ceremony in Four Seasons Hotel. CPAFFC President Li Xiaolin and Mike Baird， Premier of New South Wales， also spoke. Wang Huning， Li Zhanshu and Yang Jiechi were among the other Chinese Party and State leaders present.

In his speech， President Xi extended congratulations on the successful convening of the Forum. Local governments operating at the most primary and practical level of bilateral cooperation could do much to benefit people’s lives. Exchanges and cooperation between them played an important role in boosting relations between the two countries. As deep tree roots provide necessary binding force for the earth， the development of China-Australia relations needed to take root in local governments for all-round benefit. Friendly exchanges between local governments were an important component part of the China-Australia comprehensive strategic partnership. The establishment of the mechanism of exchanges and cooperation between the Chinese and Australian provincial/state leaders was a milestone for bilateral local cooperation， and would surely become an institutional platform for long-term exchanges between provincial/state leaders.

President Xi hoped both sides would take the opportunity to further boost cooperation between local governments bearing the overall situation in mind， adopting suitable measures in line with local conditions， complementing each other in advantages and paying attention to practical results.

Tony Abbott said the mechanism of exchanges and cooperation between Australian and Chinese state/provincial leaders was one of several important outcomes of President Xi’s visit to Australia， and also an event of great significance in bilateral relations. The convocation of the Forum coincided with the establishment of the Australia-China comprehensive strategic partnership and substantive conclusion of the negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement.

The Forum was an undoubted success. He hoped that both sides would make good use of the platform it provided.

In her speech， Li Xiaolin said that， entrusted by the Chinese Government， the CPAFFC coordinates and oversees the work of establishing and developing friendship-city relations between localities in China and their counterparts in other countries. Since the launching of friendship-city activities in 1973， China had arranged 2，146 pairs of friendship-province/state and friendship-city relations with 133 countries， including 94 pairs in Australia. She noted that the Chinese and Australian provincial and state leaders present at the forum had reached consensus on a number of issues， and held that cooperation between Chinese and Australian provincial and state governments was highly complementary and had a huge potential in the areas of agriculture， mining and tourism. People-to-people exchanges between the two countries were growing and the forum mechanism is established at the right moment.

Mike Baird said， Australian states and territories attached great importance to developing relations with China， and expected to strengthen contacts with Chinese provinces， regions and cities to push the cooperation in various fields to a new level.

At the closing ceremony， Li Xiaolin and Campbell Newman， Queensland State Premier and Rotating Chairman of the Council for the Australian Federation， exchanged copies of the “Agreement on Establishment of Exchanges and Cooperation Mechanism between Chinese and Australian Provincial/State Leaders” signed formally by the two sides to lay a solid political foundation for continued exchanges and cooperation.

At the forum， with the theme of “Challenges and Opportunities for Exchanges and Cooperation between Chinese Provinces and Australian States”， representatives had in-depth discussions on promoting the economy， trade and investment and strengthening contacts and communications.

In her speech at the Forum’s opening session， Li Xiaolin said， “Sino-Australian relations cannot develop without the support and promotion by various social sectors， particularly the provincial and state governments. The exchanges and cooperation are an important force for boosting Sino-Australian relations. It is also where the public support and social base lie.” Mike Baird said friendship-state/province ties between New South Wales and Guangdong in the past 35 years had laid a solid foundation for cooperation in various fields， and its successful experience further proved the significance of the establishment of the mechanism of state/provincial leaders exchanges and cooperation.

Leaders of Chinese provinces， autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government and leaders of Australian states and territories made keynote speeches respectively at the forum. They unanimously held that the establishment of the mechanism of state/provincial leaders exchanges and cooperation created a good platform for Chinese provinces and Australian states and brought new opportunities for result-oriented cooperation. Through this platform， the Chinese provinces and Australian states would jointly explore to build effective ways of cooperation， concentrate efforts to deepen exchanges in all areas and further upgrade the level of exchanges and cooperation. They held the establishment of China-Australia comprehensive strategic partnership and virtual conclusion of the China-Australia FTA negotiations created new historical opportunities for all-round， mutually beneficial cooperation.

In order to find cooperation partners according to their specific needs， leaders of the Chinese provinces and Australian states also engaged in one-to-one dialogues. The CPAFFC in cooperation with the Australia-China Council organized the China-Australia Business Forum for over 100 Chinese and Australian businessmen， discussing opportunities for bilateral economic and trade cooperation brought by the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement.

Luo Zhijun， Secretary of the Jiangsu Provincial CPC Committee; You Quan， Secretary of the Fujian Provincial CPC Committee; Jiang Yikang， Secretary of Shandong Provincial CPC Committee; Peng Qinghua， Secretary of the CPC Committee of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region; Wang Guosheng， Governor of Hubei Province; Zhu Xiaodan， Governor of Guangdong Province; Huang Qifan， Mayor of Chongqing Municipality directly under the Central Government; Lou Qinjian， Governor of Shaanxi Province; as well as Mike Baird， Premier of New South Wales; Alex Chernov， Governor of Victoria; Campbell Newman， Premier of Queensland; Colin Barnett， Premier of West Australia; Jay Weatherill， Premier of South Australia; William Edward Felix Hodgman， Premier of Tasmania; and Katy Gallagher， Chief Minister of Australian National Territory; respectively led delegations to attend the Forum.