Well, thank you very much, Minister Wang, and to Premier Li, my friend, it is great to be here following up from the meeting that we had in Perth one year ago.
I want to also thank our co-chairs, Bran Black of the Business Council of Australia and Zhao Huan of the China Development Bank, for your leadership of what is a very important and distinguished group of businesspeople from our respective countries.
Thank you for bringing us together today and for sharing your valuable insights.
This roundtable is a symbol of co-operation - it is also a sign of ambition.
The co-operation that has delivered profound economic benefits for the people of both our nations and the ambition to build on those complementary strengths - and go beyond them.
To deepen and diversify our trade and business links.
To ensure our partnership takes in the full suite of our smart and skilled workforces and the innovation and technology that powers our modern economies.
For many years, the businesses represented here have been at the forefront of our two nations' co-operation.
Building and strengthening connections, seeking out new markets and investing in relationships.
In your constructive engagement, you are ambassadors for Australia in China, and for China in Australia.
And all of you are ambassadors for this partnership as a whole.
For what our businesses and industries can achieve, working together.
The ten-year anniversary of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement is an opportunity to reflect on the progress that we've made.
And in the leaders' dialogue that we've just had, we spoke about commemorating the 10 years on 20 December this year, and perhaps the business leaders can think about the best way in which we can do that in both venues in just a few months' time.
Since 2015, Australian goods and services exports to China have more than doubled.
And Chinese exports to Australia have increased by 80 per cent.
Australia is a great trading nation and China is Australia's largest trading partner by far.
This is where the removal of trade impediments on Australian cotton, copper, coal, timber, hay, barley, wine, red meat and rock lobster has been such a boost for our farmers, growers and exporters.
Of course, it has also benefited China.
The industries that use Australian resources to build and power their growth.
Yesterday, at the Steel Decarbonisation Forum that was held, we had four very significant Australian companies speaking about the export of iron ore, meeting together with the world's largest steel producers here in China and speaking about how we in a practical way make a difference in lowering global emissions for the development of green metals. That is so important as we go forward.
The food manufacturers who count on high quality Australian produce.
And Chinese citizens who could sit down and celebrate the Year of the Snake with the best beef and wine that the world has to offer.
The resumption and the continued growth of trade in these areas is a reflection of the patient, deliberate and calibrated approach my Government has taken to stabilising the relationship between Australia and China.
That work continues, including today, with the first CEO Roundtable held in China since 2016.
A practical demonstration of the benefits of stabilisation generating greater engagement where it is in the interests of both of our nations.
It is an ongoing process with dialogue at its core, but the fact that you have education, finance, resources, different businesses, all represented here around this table, shows the extent to which it can grow going forward.
This dialogue is so important.
Government to government.
Business to business.
Dialogue builds understanding.
It enables us to express our differences and to manage them, without our relationship being defined by them.
Co-operating where we can, disagreeing where we must - and engaging in our national interest.
And that has been our Government's approach.
Those opportunities for co-operation were a key part of the warm and productive discussions I had with President Xi, Premier Li and Chairman Zhao earlier today.
This is about building stronger ties where our national interests are aligned.
From trade and tourism, education and culture, to action on climate change.
For many sectors, China is Australia's largest market:
Our largest source of overseas students.
A growing driver of our tourism industry.
Our largest export destination for iron ore.
And critical source of foreign investment, across the board.
It is important that in forums such as this, we can learn from shared success but also plan for common challenges:
The structural imbalances of global steel supply that we need to work together to address.
What we need do to maximise the economic opportunities of the global shift to net zero.
And how we can ensure the businesses represented in this room - from agriculture, resources, education, services, and beyond - have the confidence and certainty to invest in the new skills and technology that will underpin your future growth and productivity.
Getting this right - here and in Australia - will depend on policies that are shaped by your experience and your insights.
But my government believes unequivocally in free and fair trade as a driver of global growth, and I know the discussions that we've had today have been very constructive.
To that end, one of the great privileges of representing our nation on international visits is meeting with Australians who are achieving extraordinary things overseas.
People with the drive to commercialise a new idea, create a new market or build a new market.
Australians who have backed themselves to compete and succeed in the world.
People whose talent and capacity has benefited both our nations.
That thread runs from this room, all the way to Chengdu, where tomorrow we'll be reflecting on the proud history and exciting future of Australia and China's collaboration in medtech.
The company is a proud Australian company that is making a difference around the world and is an example of a great cooperation in technology and new industries that we can promote here to the benefit of both of our nations.
I do want thank the business community in Australia and acknowledge their support for an optimistic approach to global engagement and the determination to provide support for the government's agenda in prompting that optimistic vision.
And thank you for what you do to strengthen the bonds between our two great nations. So, the businesses from China. I thank you very much for your engagement and I think that this gathering will send a very important message back to Australia about the significance that we place as a government in this engagement and collaboration in the interest of both our nations, but also I think it's fair to say, in today's turbulent world, in the interest of global economic activity as well.
Thank you.
