On October 22nd, Zhang Xu, vice minister of Culture and Tourism met with Premier of South Australia Steven Marshall and his delegation in Beijing.
Zhang Xu made an introduction on the cultural and tourism cooperation and exchanges between China and Australia. He expressed that the North Australia is an important partner of Chinese cultural and tourism exchanges. Therefore, China will send delegations to participate in the festive celebrations organized by the North Australia as OzAsia Festival, one of Australia’s major international arts festivals, has served as an important platform for cultural cooperation. Meanwhile, China is an important source of foreign tourists for North Australia. It is hoped that the government will continuously roll out favorable measure in tourism security, experience and payment in order to facilitate Chinese visitors. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism will continue to support cultural and tourism collaboration between the two sides, solidifying the popular support for China-Australia ties.
Marshall appreciated the arrangement of meeting. He said that cultural exchange is of great importance to strengthening bilateral relations and Chinese culture is a significant part of North Australian communities. The friendship between North Australia and China transcends culture, tradition, sports and international education. The government of South Australia attaches great importance to the cooperation with China, and is willing to provide Chinese tourists with high-quality tourism products and services.
Australian Ambassador to China Graham Fletcher were also present during the meeting.