Ms Elly Lawson, Deputy Secretary of DFAT
Mr Jonathan Muir, Chief of Protocol of DFAT
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen, dear Friends,
It’s my great pleasure to have you here to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the People's Republic of China. On behalf of the Chinese Embassy in Australia, I wish to extend my warm welcome and heartfelt thanks to the friends from all walks of life who have long been caring about China and contributing the development of China-Australia relations.
Over the past 75 years, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the Chinese people have embarked on a successful path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, creating miracles of rapid economic growth and long-term social stability. China now has become the world's second-largest economy, contributing 32% to global economic growth. We have eliminated absolute poverty, lifting nearly 100 million people out of poverty, and established the world's largest healthcare, education, and social security systems. Upholding an Independent Foreign Policy of Peace, China has put forward the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, which have become the basic norms governing international relations and basic principles of international law. China has always been committed to upholding world peace and promoting common development. It has dispatched the largest number of peacekeeping personnel among the permanent members of the UN Security Council and facilitated the reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran, thereby making positive contributions to global peace and development.
Nowadays, guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the Chinese people are advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through a Chinese path to modernization. This July, the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China successfully convened. It has drawn up a grand blueprint for further deepening reform comprehensively and demonstrated the firm determination to continue reform and opening up, demonstrating a broad prospect for Chinese modernization in three aspects:
First, China will continue to adhere the high-quality development and accelerate the development of new quality productive forces. China will focus on developing new quality productive forces characterized by high technology, high efficiency, and high quality, with the focus on scientific innovation and green development to empower high-quality growth. We will accelerate the development of emerging industries such as hydrogen energy and new materials, actively build new engines of growth in green and low-carbon sectors, commercial aerospace, and artificial intelligence, and explore new paths in quantum technology and life sciences, expanding cooperation in new fields and sharing new development opportunities with countries around the world.
Second, China will continue to promote high-standard opening up and share the fruits of reform with the world. On this new journey of reform and opening up, we will continue to promote reform through opening up, enhance our capacity for openness through expanded international cooperation, and create a top-tier, market-oriented, rule-of-law-based, and internationalized business environment for foreign investment and trade. We will take a more proactive approach to align with high-standard international economic and trade rules, expand the network of high-standard Free Trade Areas globally, and support high-level educational openness while advancing international exchanges in science and technology.
Third, China will continue to uphold the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind, contributing China’s wisdom to global peace and development. China will follow the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy with building new international relations as the basic underpinning, implementing the Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative, and Global Civilization Initiative. These initiatives aim to contribute China’s solutions and wisdom to address the global governance deficit. China will always assume the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, exploring and practicing solutions with Chinese characteristics towards international issues. Furthermore, China will promote the building of bilateral and regional communities with a shared future, particularly in areas such as health, climate change, and cybersecurity. China is ready to join hands with all countries to advance the global modernization and contribute to creating a brighter future for humanity.
Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,
This year marks the 10th anniversary of President Xi Jinping's state visit to Australia and the establishment of the China-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. It is also a pivotal year when China-Australia relations have moved from stability and improvement to strengthening and further development. Over the past two years, President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Albanese have met twice, reaching significant consensus on continuing to develop our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Last November, Prime Minister Albanese made a successful visit to China, and not long ago, Premier Li Qiang made a successful and productive visit to Australia, with the statement on joint outcomes of the China-Australia Annual Leader’s Meeting mapping out the blueprint for the next stage of China-Australia relations. High-level exchanges between the two countries in diplomacy, trade, parliamentary relations, and political parties have resumed. Deepening mutual trust and cooperation has become the main theme of the bilateral relationship.
China-Australia relations are mutually beneficial and win-win in nature, which aligns with the fundamental interests and shared aspirations of our two peoples. In 2023, for the first time, the total value of goods trade between China and Australia surpassed AUD 300 billion. China has been Australia's largest trading partner for 15 consecutive years, and has been the largest export market, largest source of imports, and fifth-largest source of direct investment to Australia. Both sides have gradually resolved their respective trade concerns. Australian wine and other products have returned to the Chinese market. Since the beginning of this year, China and Australia have signed or renewed cooperation agreements in education and culture, and reached reciprocal visa agreements. Australia has become China's fifth-largest source of inbound tourism, while China has risen to become Australia's second-largest source of tourists and the largest source of international students, accounting for 21% of the total international students. Sub-national and city-level exchanges between the two countries continue to deepen, injecting new impetus for local development in both nations.
At this new starting point for the next decade of the China-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, our bilateral relations are positioned for further development and facing significant opportunities. Chinese side is ready to make joint efforts with the Australian side, to firmly implement the strategic consensus reached by our leaders and work together to build a more mature, stable, and fruitful Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
——Adhere to the right way to get along, treating each other as equals, seeking common ground while shelving differences and conducting mutually beneficial cooperation, handle our differences in a mature, objective, rational and prudent manner, maintaining and developing the positive momentum of the stable and improving bilateral relationship.
——Continue to strengthen traditional cooperation in trade, energy, and mining, meanwhile capitalize on the complementary advantages between our two countries in fields of climate change, energy transition, innovation, as well as the stability of supply and production chains, and similar goals when it comes to China’s policy of developing new quality productive forces and "Future Made in Australia", explore cooperation opportunities in emerging fields such as green development, digital economy, technological innovation, and the healthcare industry.
——Further enhance friendly cooperation in education, culture, sports, and tourism, implement new measures to facilitate people-to-people exchanges. By which, we can bring greater benefits to our two peoples and ensure the torch of China-Australia friendship could be passed down through generations.
I’m confident, as long as both sides work with concerted efforts, we can ensure the sound and steady development of China-Australia relations, make more contribution to regional peace, stability, and prosperity.
Thank you.