China International Import Expo

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (14:39): My question is to the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment. Can the minister update the council on South Australia's participation in the 2019 China International Import Expo?

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment) (14:40): I thank the honourable member for his question and his ongoing interest in growing our state's economy. China, as we all know, is a very important business partner for South Australia. It is our largest trading partner, our largest source of international students and also our largest source of international visitors—not only by nights stayed but overall spend. Last year, some 66,000 Chinese tourists travelled to South Australia, an increase of 19 per cent on the previous year, injecting some $378 million into our record $7.6 billion economy. In 2019, South Australia attracted over 14,000 international students from China—an increase of 1.5 per cent.

In terms of trade in the last 12 months to September, South Australia recorded nearly $2.8 billion worth of exports to China—an increase of 9.7 per cent on the previous year. This is why it is critically important that our state government supports the efforts of our businesses and industry in China, and so last week I attended the second China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai. To give you some context, it's an exhibition covering some 240,000 square metres, with 150,000 registered purchasers coming to the event from all over China, and exhibitors come from all around the world.

I visited each of the South Australian companies' trade booths and was pleased to witness a number of the 34 businesses sign deals with their Chinese partners. The China office also arranged two television interviews, where I was able to talk about South Australia's high-quality produce to an audience of millions of Chinese viewers. This year, 34 South Australian businesses participated at CIIE, up from 23 last year, an increase in participation of some 48 per cent.

Last year was a great success, with an estimated $20 million of export deals reported by South Australian delegates and another $10 million of export leads. Talking to the South Australian delegates, many of them shared with me that this year's CIIE was particularly beneficial, and I will continue to support them to grow our economy, create more jobs and wealth for South Australia.

The Hon. I.K. Hunter interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Hunter, you could have asked a supplementary—

The Hon. I.K. Hunter: I will get there, sir.

The PRESIDENT: —rather than shout. The Hon. Mr Darley.