I am pleased to advise that the Chairman of China's National People's Congress, HE Mr Wu Bangguo, will visit Australia from 19 - 25 May 2005.
Australia and China share a strong, broad and steadily expanding bilateral relationship that spans cooperation in a wide range of fields from economics and education to law enforcement, security and defence. China is the top source country for international student enrolments in Australia, with more than 68,000 students enrolled in Australian institutions in 2004. More than 250,000 Chinese tourists visited Australia last year.
The strong economic complementarities between Australia and China have seen bilateral trade quadruple over the last decade. China is Australia's third largest trading partner and second largest merchandise export market, with key exports including iron ore, alumina, wheat, petroleum and coal. Total two-way trade is now valued at over $30 billion.
During my recent visit to China, Premier Wen Jiabao and I announced that Australia and China would commence negotiations towards a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (FTA), in the context of which Australia agreed to recognise China's market economy status under WTO rules. The FTA negotiations are a natural next step in the development of our already very strong trade and economic relationship, and offer an important opportunity to consolidate that relationship. Discussions on FTA negotiations will take place in parallel with Chairman Wu's visit to Sydney on 23 May.
The visit by Chairman Wu is an important element of the very active and productive programme of high-level exchange between our two countries. Chairman Wu will visit Canberra, Cairns, Sydney and Western Australia, where he will view production and export facilities in the mineral resources and energy fields. Chairman Wu will witness the signing in Canberra of a Memorandum of Understanding on science cooperation between the Chinese Education Ministry and the CSIRO, and will participate in the official launch of an LNG Technology Partnership Fund in Perth.
Having recently met Chairman Wu during my visit to Beijing in April, I look forward to renewing our acquaintance during his visit to Canberra on 24 May.