China Trade Mission

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (15:12): My question is to the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment. Can the minister update the council on outcomes from his trip to Shanghai and Guangzhou?

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment) (15:13): I thank the honourable member for his ongoing interest in growing our economy, especially in Asia. As I have mentioned before to the council, the Marshall Liberal government has taken positive steps to grow our relationship with China as our largest partner for trade, tourism and international education. This includes reopening a trade office in Shanghai as part of the $12.8 million commitment to support South Australian businesses in-market to drive exports and market opportunities.

Delivering on our election commitment, last month we also appointed a trade officer in Guangzhou embedded within Austrade. Now, through the Shanghai and Jinan offices, as well as our representatives in Hong Kong and Guangzhou, South Australian businesses have on-the-ground support across northern, central and southern China.

As well as attending the China International Import Expo that I spoke of yesterday, a key focus of my time in China was to meet our new Guangzhou representative, Ms Joie Liang, and to build on key relationships in that region. It is critical to have someone on the ground assisting exporters with advice and support on local government, customs and quarantine issues.

I had very constructive meetings with the Guangdong ministry of commerce, as well as China Southern Airlines, who operate, as we know, direct flights between Adelaide and Guangzhou and manage a considerable amount of very important air freight from our South Australian exporters to China. I also met with key distributors of South Australian products both in Guangzhou and Shanghai, as well as a number of researchers who are interested in growing their partnerships in South Australia and several entrepreneurs who are considering developing their businesses here.

I was also pleased to witness the signing of an agreement between Shanghai Electric Group and local Adelaide company Consolidated Power Projects Australia Pty Ltd (CPP). This is a significant partnership that enables CPP to provide the electrical design and other services as part of Shanghai Electric's plan to build a high-voltage substation for the Cultana Solar Farm north of Whyalla. I congratulate Dave Evans, Anton Theron and the CPP team for their success.

It's clear that having South Australian trade and investment representatives on the ground in China is delivering results. It has been one year since we opened the Shanghai office. In addition to its work supporting business migrants, trade fairs, inbound and outbound delegations and sourcing trade leads and investment opportunities, to date the office has supported more than 21 new South Australian exporters to enter the China market for the first time. This is on-the-ground support that 21 South Australian exporters would not have received under the previous Labor government.

Looking at the 12-month trade figures to September, South Australia recorded nearly $2.8 billion worth of exports to China, an increase of 9.7 per cent. I would like to thank Xiaoya, Alice, Javen, Michelle and Joie for their ongoing efforts as well as all our colleagues from Austrade and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. I look forward to sharing more outcomes for South Australia as they follow up on all the business leads generated while I was in China last week.