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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, First Session (53-1)
2014-09-23 Daily Xml
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OzAsia Festival

The Hon. S.W. KEY (Ashford) (14:17): My question is directed to the Premier. Can the Premier inform the house about how the 2014 OzAsia Festival has helped deepen South Australia's engagement with China?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier) (14:17): I thank the honourable member for her continued interest in South Australia's engagement with China. Our government takes its relationship with China incredibly seriously. In 2012, we released a strategy that was dedicated to the South Australian-Chinese relationship, and it has been noticed in China. They take very seriously our strategic documents; sometimes I wish our public servants took our strategic documents as seriously as the officials in China.

We made a specific reference to the province of Shandong, and we believe that our engagement with China, which has a particular investment in the social and, if you like, cultural elements of the relationship, has struck a chord with the Chinese authorities. They understand that deep economic relationships spring from those friendships, that they are at the heart of greater levels of understanding.

The economic benefit for South Australia is becoming apparent. South Australia's exports to China experienced an extraordinary 50 per cent growth in the year to July 2014. That is an increase of $1.114 billion from one country alone. It is an extraordinary achievement. We are opening our doors through political and cultural engagement that will help us to grow future trade and investment relationships.

The festival was an enormous success. Shandong was the theme for the 2014 OzAsia Festival. I understand it is the first time a province in China has been showcased anywhere in Australia. They responded with an extraordinary degree of generosity, bringing a troupe of over 140 artists, and at the highest level. The stature and success of the performances helped raise the level of awareness of OzAsia Festival in South Australia, nationally and also internationally. We also used OzAsia to further develop our political relationships. The visit of Chinese Ambassador to Australia, His Excellency Ma Zhaoxu, was planned to coincide with OzAsia.

On 3 September, I gave a keynote address to Ambassador Ma, which was extensively covered in the Chinese media, appearing prominently in both the print and online addition of the People's Daily, which has slightly broader reach than The Advertiser. The People's Daily is the largest daily newspaper and the Chinese language website claims 400 million hits a day. The story was subsequently syndicated across Australia—

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: I'm big in China—in a number of different print and online publications. During the OzAsia Festival, we also welcomed—

Mr Pisoni interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Unley is called to order.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: During the OzAsia Festival, we also welcomed the Vice Governor of Shandong, Mr Ji Xiangqui, who addressed our cabinet meeting, which was held at the Royal Adelaide Show on 8 September. Vice Governor Ji witnessed the signing of the memorandum of understanding between the South Australian government and the Shandong government and the Adelaide Festival Centre Trust. The signing of the memorandum of understanding between the Shandong government and the Tourist Commission will help us develop another aspect of our sister state relationship.

I think all parties that have been involved in the OzAsia Festival deserve to be congratulated on this incredibly successful example of international engagement. We are seeking to engage with the Chinese government when Vice Governor Ji attends Australia during the course of the G20 summit to deepen the relationship between China and South Australia.

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