Remarks by Chinese Consul-General in Adelaide HE Lanjing at the 70th Celebrations of National Day of the People's Republic of China by the Australia China Business Council South Australia Branch and China Chamber of Commerce in Australia Adelaide Branch

(17 September 2019, Adelaide Hilton)

The Hon. David Ridgway MLC, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment,

Mr Sean Keenihan, Vice President of the Australia China Business Council (ACBC) and President of the ACBC South Australia Branch,

Mr GAO Fusheng, President of the China Chamber of Commerce in Australia (CCCA) Adelaide Branch,

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Good evening!

It is a real delight to attend this China National Day Celebration co-hosted by the ACBC South Australia Branch and the CCCA Adelaide Branch. Today's function is one of the three celebrations in Adelaide in honour of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the PR China. I would like to thank the two branches for pouring so much passion and efforts into this function. And ACBC board members, welcome to join us tonight. My special thanks shall also go to all the guests here. Thank you for your positive contributions over these years, to strengthening Australia's, especially South Australia's economic and trade ties with China, and to enhancing mutual understanding between our two peoples.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The past 70 years has witnessed profound changes in China. In just a few decades, China has achieved industrialisation that took many countries several centuries to develop. It is widely regarded as an economic miracle never recorded in human history. China has grown into the world's second-largest economy, accounting for 16% of the world GDP, ranking No.1 in terms of merchandise trade, manufacturing capacity and foreign exchange reserves. China puts forward the Belt and Road Initiative to promote global connectivity and infrastructure building, and the Initiative has become a widely participated platform for international cooperation and a popular international public product. The living standards of the Chinese people have been improved tremendously. 850 million people have been lifted out of poverty. Per capita GDP is close to 10,000 US dollars. China now has more than 400 million middle-income population and the fastest-growing consumer market in the world. Our countrymen take nearly 150 million oversea trips every year. Such achievements are not a godsend, not a gift from others. They come from every effort, every drop of sweat of the hard-working Chinese people under the strong leadership of Chinese Communist Party.

At present, China's economy has sustained a stable performance with good momentum for growth. Despite the slowdown in the global economic growth and trade, this year China runs its economy in a steadier and more coordinated manner. China's GDP grew by 6.4% in the first quarter. Transformation and upgrading have yielded notable results. A series of policies to reduce taxes and fees have been fully implemented. The business environment has consistently improved. Innovation-driven growth continues to pay off. All these signify a positive trend for China's economy to move toward high-quality development. In the future, Chinese market will continue to release its sizable potential. There is every reason to believe, with the strong leadership of Chinese Communist Party, with the solid material and technological foundations accumulated from the forty years of reform and opening-up and the resultant rapid economic growth, with the enormous resilience, potential and flexibility in the development of China's economy, and with the rich experience China's government has got in macro-regulation, we have all the necessary conditions, capabilities and every confidence to deal with any risks or challenges.

Ladies and gentlemen,

China has consistently maintained its position of supporting the multilateral trading system and the liberalisation and facilitation of trade and investment. China will continue to promote opening-up at higher level and be committed to mutual beneficial and win-win outcomes. An ever-growing and increasingly open Chinese market will do good for global economy, will offer rare opportunities for enterprises around the world. Today, the trade tension between China and the US is of great concern to the international community. The willful imposition of additional tariffs by the US goes against the WTO rules. It harms others and is of no benefit to itself. It also threatens global economy and trade. China has been committed to resolving the economic and trade disputes through dialogue and consultation, and has made tremendous efforts to this end. China is willing to work together with the US to reach a win-win solution on the basis of equality and mutual respect. But in no case would China give in to the maximum pressure from the US. There's no winner in a trade war. China does not want a trade war, nevertheless it will firmly safeguard its own legitimate interests and development rights.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Both China and Australia are important countries in the Asia Pacific region. We enjoy highly complementary economies and huge potential for cooperation. We have also seen good momentum in the bilateral economic cooperation and trade for years. In 2018, the trade in goods grew by 14.1% year on year to 143 billion US dollars, among which Australia's exports to China rose by 14.7% to 87.6 billion US dollars, accounting for 34.1% of Australia's total exports. China has remained the largest trading partner, export market and import source for Australia. Since January 1st 2019, China and Australia have started to implement the fifth round of tariff cuts, involving 7,537 product tax codes for Australia's exports to China. Almost all goods in bilateral trade now are eligible for tariff-free access, and it will provide a significant boost for China-Australia economic and trade relations.

The cooperative ties between China and South Australia hold an important place in China-Australia relations. In recent years, the practical cooperation in economy and trade have been gaining momentum, making itself a strong impetus to the relationship between China and South Australia. For South Australia, China has been the largest trading partner, largest export destination, largest source of imports and the top market for international students for many consecutive years. According to Australian statistics, in 2017-2018 fiscal year, South Australia's merchandise trade with China jumped by 8% to 4.27 billion AU dollars, with its exports up 11% to 2.52 billion AU dollars. South Australia's trade surplus surged by 35% to 780 million AU dollars. Indisputably, South Australia is also well-regarded as Australia's wine state. In the first five months of this year, Australia had overtaken France as China's biggest imported wine source in terms of value, taking up about one third of market share. China itself comprised 42% of Australia's total wine export value last fiscal year. In this March, a delegation of China Chamber of Commerce of Foodstuffs and Native Produce visited South Australia. A total of 38 million AU dollars wine purchase contracts were signed in just three days. In the investment area, so far the cumulative investment of Chinese enterprises in South Australia has reached 2 billion US dollars. The above figures fully show that the potential has been constantly unleashed for cooperation between the two sides, and the booming economic and trade ties have fuelled the economic growth of South Australia and generated great benefits for the two peoples.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The fruitful economic cooperation and trade has been a cornerstone for China-Australia relationship. The business community is a key driving force, as well as a direct participant and beneficiary of the development of our bilateral relations. China is a huge market with its door open wide. China's development is an opportunity for the world, and for the common development of China and Australia. We welcome the business community of South Australia aboard the express train of China's development, seize the strategic opportunities of China-Australia FTA and the Belt and Road Initiative to make the cake much bigger, maintain the remarkable advantages and enthusiasm, explore new areas to cooperate, and play an active role in further deepening the practical cooperation between China and South Australia.

Thank you!