SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER
NANJING BANQUET 23 MAY 1986
YdUR EXCELLENCY GOVERNOR GU XIULIAN, VICE GOVERNOR CHEN
HUAN YOU, YOUR EXCELLENCY VICE-MAYOR WANG RONG BING,
. DISTINGUISHED CHINESE GUESTS AND AUSTRALIAN COLLEAGUES.
THANK YOU, GOVERNOR GU, FOR YOUR WARM WORDS OF WELCOME TO
YOUR FAMOUS PROVINCE AND SERENE AND BEAUTIFUL CAPITAL CITY.
IT IS INDEED A GREAT PLEASURE TO BE ON THE GROUND THIS TIME,
INSTEAD OF JUST CIRCLING OVERHEAD. I WELL RECALL HOW THE
WEATHER TREACHEROUSLY INTERVENED WHEN I WAS LAST IN CHINA TO
INCONVENIENCE YOU AT THE AIRPORT, WAITING PATIENTLY FOR US
ON THAT MISERABLE WINTER'S DAY, MY PARTY AND I WERE BITTERLY
DISAPPOINTED WHEN ADVISED THAT LANDING WAS IMPOSSIBLE. THIS
TIME WE HAVE MADE IT!
I WAS DETERMINED TO RETURN TO NANJING AT THE EARLIEST POSSIBLE
OPPORTUNITY AND I HAVE MADE YOUR RICH AND ACCOMPLISHED PROVINCE
AND ITS HISTORIC CAPITAL CITY A MAJOR FOCAL POINT OF MY PRESENT
VISIT.
. JIANGSU PROVINCE IS, OF COURSE, WELL-KNOWN TO AUSTRALIANS AS
THE VANGUARD OF INDUSTRIAL AND AGRICULTURAL ACHIEVEMENTS IN
THE CURRENT ERA OF CHINA'S DRAMATIC NATIONAL ECONOMIC REFORMS,-
WE HAVE FOLLOWED YOUR SUCCESSES WITH CONSIDERABLE INTEREST IN
RECENT YEARS AND MUST CONGRATULATE YOU IN PARTICULAR ON YOUR
GREAT ACHIEVEMENT IN BECOMING CHINA'S LEADING INDUSTRIAL
PROVINCE IN 1985, To HAVE DOUBLED INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT FROM AN
ALREADY SUBSTANTIAL BASE IN JUST FIVE YEARS IS A REMARKABLE FEAT.
JIANGSU IS, AS YOU HAVE NOTED, ESPECIALLY WELL-KNOWN TO THE
PEOPLE OF OUR STATE OF VICTORIA FOR ITS ACTIVE CO-OPERATION
IN DEVELOPING WHAT HAS BECOME A MODEL SISTER PROVINCE-SISTER
STATE RELATIONSHIP, TOP LEADERS ON BOTH SIDES HAVE GIVEN
SIGNIFICANT PERSONAL SUPPORT TO BUILDING UP THE MOMENTUM OF
EXCHANGES, VISITS AT THE HIGHEST PROVINCIAL AND STATE
GOVERNMENT LEVELS HAVE BEEN A REGULAR FEATURE OF THE
RELATIONSHIP, I RECALL WITH PLEASURE MEETING GOVERNOR GU IN AUSTRALIA IN
JUNE 1984 AT WHICH TIME I WAS ABLE TO APOLOGISE PERSONALLY
FOR KEEPING HER OUT IN THE COLD. PARTY SECRETARY HAN PEIXIN
WAS A FURTHER ABLE AMBASSADOR FOR HIS PROVINCE WHEN HE VISITED
AUSTRALIA IN AUGUST LAST YEAR, PREMIER CAIN OF VICTORIA HAS
ONLY LAST WEEK COMPLETED HIS SECOND SUCCESSFUL VISIT TO
JIANGSU AND HAS BEEN MORE FORTUNATE THAN I IN HAVING TIME TO
ENJOY NOT ONLY NANJING, BUT ALSO YOUR PROVINCE'S HISTORIC
BEAUTY SPOTS OF SUZHOU AND WUXI,
THE GOVERNMENTS OF JIANGSU AND VICTORIA ( AND MANY AUSTRALIAN
COMPANIES IN OTHER STATES) ALREADY HAVE WELL ESTABLISHED
COMMERCIAL CO-OPERATION AND TECHNICAL EXCHANGES IN THE AREAS
OF FOOD PROCESSING AND PACKAGING AND LIGHT MANUFACTURES,
THIS BASE IS TO BE REINFORCED BY A MAJOR EXHIBITION IN NANJING.
CO-SPONSORED BY THE AUSTRALIAN TRADE COMMISSION, THIS COMING
SEPTEMBER,
I
3,
IN ADDITION, VICTORIA HAS A CLOSE INTEREST, WHICH THE
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT STRONGLY SUPPORTS, IN INVOLVING ITSELF
IN A SIGNIFICANT PORT DEVELOPMENT IN JIANGSU. AS A PART
OF TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENTS, THIS IS A HIGH PRIORITY FOR
YOUR OWN CENTRAL GOVERNMENT IN ITS SEVENTH FIVE-YEAR PLAN,
AND IS ALSO AN AGREED SECTOR FOR CLOSE CO-OPERATION WITH
AUSTRALIA. I SHALL LEAVE NANJING MUCH BETTER INFORMED ABOUT
JIANGSU'S ACHIEVEMENTS AND ASPIRATIONS IN FORGING EVEN
STRONGER PORT CONNECTIONS WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD.
JIANGSU HAS RECENTLY BECOME THE FOCUS OF ANOTHER MAJOR
BILATERAL SECTORAL INITIATIVE WOOL. I HAD PLEASURE THIS
AFTERNOON IN PARTICIPATING IN A CEREMONY MARKING A
SIGNIFICANT STEP TOWARDS THE ESTABLISHMENT BY AUSTRALIA AND
CHINA OF A WOOL STORE IN A SUBURB OF NANJING. THE RAPID
DEVELOPMENT IN RECENT YEARS OF JIANGSU'S WOOLLEN TEXTILE
INDUSTRY IS SOMETHING IN WHICH I KNOW THE GOVERNOR TAKES A
CLOSE PROFESSIONAL INTEREST.
IN YET ANOTHER KEY AREA OF CO-OPERATION I LOOK FORWARD
TOMORROW TO SEEING SHANGHAI'S MAJOR INVESTMENT IN JiANGSU
PROVINCE THE MEISHAN IRON COMPLEX. AUSTRALIAN IRON ORE
COMES RIGHT UP THE MIGHTY YANGTZE RIVER TO FEED ITS BLAST
FURNACE AND COMMERCIAL CONTACTS CONTINUE ABOUT POSSIBLE
FUTURE AUSTRALIAN INVOLVEMENT IN MEISHAN'S EXPANSION PLANS.
I THEREFORE PROPOSE A TOAST:
-TO PRESENT AND FUTURE CO-OPERATION BETWEEN AUSTRALIA
AND JIANGSU IN THE AREAS OF PORT DEVELOPMENT, WOOL
PROCESSING AND IRON AND STEEL
-TO JIANGSU'S AND VICTORIA'S HAPPY AND MUTUALLY REWARDING
PARTNERSHIP, AND
-TO THE GOOD HEALTH OF GOVERNOR GU, VICE-GOVERNOR CHEN,
VICE MAYOR WANG AND ALL OTHER CHINESE AND AUSTRALIAN
FRIENDS HERE TONIGHT.