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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-11-23 Daily Xml
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CHINA MINING CONFERENCE

The Hon. B.V. FINNIGAN (15:12): My question is to the Leader of the Government, the Minister for Mineral Resources Development. Will the minister provide details of his recent travel to Tianjin to attend the China Mining 2010 Conference?

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Ridgway. The honourable minister.

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister Assisting the Premier in Public Sector Management) (15:12): I thank the honourable member for his question. He is correct that I recently attended the China Mining 2010 Conference in Tianjin. I was delighted to lead a South Australian delegation to attend what is now one of the world's largest mining industry conferences. Event organisers say that more than 4,000 delegates and 300 exhibitors with 600 booths from 50 countries and regions registered to attend this event held between 16 and 18 November.

The conference was relocated to a new venue at the Meijiang Convention Centre near the heart of Tianjin from last year's venue at the Tianjin Economic Development area outside the city in the Binhai New Area. It was a very impressive venue, with a plenary hall supported by a large exhibition hall and two floors of seminar rooms. Incidentally, Tianjin is the port city of Beijing and has a population of about 13 million people.

Team Australia provided a central exhibition staffed by Geoscience representatives, while the South Australian government provided the only state dedicated booth. PIRSA advises that this booth, which was staffed by representatives from our Shanghai office, the Department of Trade and Economic Development and significant mining and mining services companies, attracted hundreds of inquiries.

I was joined by ministers and a deputy minister of mines and mineral development from more than 10 countries at the conference that was officially opened by China's Vice Premier Li Keqiang. Alan Morell (Australia's senior trade officer based in the Beijing embassy) was one of the keynote speakers at the opening, which was also attended by representatives of the World Bank and the Canadian and South African embassies.

China is South Australia's largest export market, with $1.2 billion in commodities traded in 2009-10. South Australia also has a diverse range of mineral resources, including iron ore, zinc, heavy mineral sands, copper-gold and uranium.

China Mining provided an excellent opportunity to remind Chinese and other overseas delegations of the continued potential for mineral resources development in South Australia. The interest in the South Australian booth was boosted by a special breakout session on Australian mining, which I had the honour to address on the Tuesday afternoon.

South Australia also hosted an investment dinner, which included speeches by Fan Zhiquan, the Secretary-General of the China Mining Association, and Madam Zheng Jinlan, who is the Director-General of the Shandong Provincial Government's Bureau of Geology and Minerals. The bureau, she told me, has about 8,000 employees.

On Wednesday, I attended a special seminar hosted by DTED and PIRSA, which included presentations by Australian mining and mining services providers, such as Flinders Ports and the South Australian Chamber of Mines and Energy. The seminar attracted more than 100 participants, with a similar number attending the investment dinner.

China Mining is ranked in the top 10 minerals and energy conferences in the world and is rapidly catching up with Canada's Prospectors and Developers Association Conference (PDAC), which is the undisputed largest conference of its kind. There continues to be a significant interest by Chinese companies in opportunities to invest in South Australia's minerals and energy resources. Chinese companies attending China Mining included the CITIC Group, the Wuhan Iron and Steel Company, Sinosteel and the Shandong Geomineral Resources Group, all of which are already investors in exploration and development in South Australia.

Serious interest was shown by potential investors with Shandong Gold's board chairman and party secretary, Wang Jianhua, attending the resources investment seminar. I also attended a project signing ceremony on the sidelines of the conference where I witnessed 62 separate memorandums of understanding being signed between Chinese and foreign companies—it must be something of a record, I would have thought. One of those companies included Centrex Metals, which is in the process of developing its Wilgerup iron ore mine on Eyre Peninsula.

While was in Tianjin, I also took the opportunity to visit the Museum of Urban Development and Planning housed in the old Drum Tower in the city. Spread over several floors, this interesting museum provided an overview through maps, models, photographs and historic artefacts of the successful implementation of the Tianjin Municipal Government's urban renewal program. Implemented since 1993, this comprehensive program sought to replace the old single-storey hovels known as 'ping fans' with modern housing.

Tianjin residents had long endured this cramped and unhygienic style of housing which was prone to damage from earthquakes and flooding. Over time, sections of the old city were replaced with high density accommodation, with apartments providing all the mod cons. This was accompanied with the provision of open space, such as parks and markets. Together, this has changed the life of the people of Tianjin and provided this important municipality with a new modern character.

This short visit to China also included Xiamen, a major port and special economic zone in Fujian province, just across the strait from Taiwan. I was delighted to meet the Deputy Secretary-General of the Xiamen Municipality Government, You You Xiong, and representatives of the Xiamen Port Authority, including director Wang Yongjun, as well as tour their impressive facilities. I should say that I was there with representatives of Flinders Ports who have signed a sister port arrangement with this important port of Xiamen, which is the seventh largest port in China.

Besides inspecting the container terminals on the island foreshore, I also visited the Xiangyu bonded area, which will soon have an area to cater for South Australian wine, and the newly built Xiamen Petroleum Exchange. China is a great opportunity for South Australia and South Australian exporters. I was pleased to be able to provide some small assistance in promoting our important trade links with this emerging powerhouse economy.

Australia's economy has far outperformed the rest of the developed world in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, and China has, of course, played a major part in that outcome. This government recognises China as a strong and valued partner in our state's future economic prosperity, and we will continue to provide strong support for South Australia's mining sector as it assumes an increasingly major role in resources and energy exports to China.

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