City of Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp will visit Indonesia and China later this week to promote Melbourne businesses and foster economic, trade and smart city relationships with our major trading partners.
The Lord Mayor will travel to Bandung in Indonesia and Guangzhou, Nanjing, Tianjin and Beijing in China on a 10-day visit from Thursday 9 May to Tuesday 21 May 2019.
"Strengthening our relationships with Indonesia and China is vital to advancing Melbourne's prosperity. This visit will help us build on strong economic ties and we will showcase to the world Melbourne's key strengths in the innovation, smart cities and startup sectors," the Lord Mayor said
"China is our main trading partner and has the world's second biggest economy, worth more than $26 billion a year in bilateral trade.
"Indonesia will be the world's fifth largest economy by 2030 and is an important trading partner in sectors such as science, technology, innovation, the arts and education."
The Lord Mayor will conduct face-to-face meetings with senior officials and key business contacts, including meeting with the Mayor of Guangzhou, officials from WeChat and China Southern Airlines, Austrade and the Australian Consulate General.
In Nanjing (the capital of Jiangsu state), the Lord Mayor will attend the NEXUS: Jiangsu-Victoria Startup Summit along with Whitehorse Mayor Bill Bennett, Ballarat Mayor Cr Samantha McIntosh and Maribyrnong Mayor Cuc Lam.
The summit offers Melbourne start-ups the opportunity to present their ideas on a global stage, and follows the City of Melbourne helping to establish the Jiangsu-Victoria Innovation Centre in Melbourne in 2017 to support our startups entering markets in China.
The Lord Mayor will also sign a memorandum of understanding in Jiangsu to facilitate co-operation in areas including smart cities, innovation, liveability, sports, bio medicine, trade and education.
"Melbourne has one of the top five fastest growing startup sectors in the world. One in four of our startup businesses were created by people who moved to Melbourne to capitalise on the strength of our startup market," the Lord Mayor said.
"In addition to promoting Melbourne's strengths, this visit is an important celebration of the 40-year sister-state anniversary between the Jiangsu province and Victoria. The Jiangsu precinct brings almost 52,000 tourists to Victoria each year, an increase of almost 50 per cent since 2014."
The Lord Mayor will also attend the Tianjin government leader's program alumni event co-hosted by RMIT and Tianjin Municipal Government, and visit to Melbourne Office Tianjin.
Before arriving in China, the Lord Mayor will also visit Indonesia, where she will attend the Open Innovation Competition, a co-hosted event by the City of Bandung and the City of Melbourne, where innovators share new ideas on tackling major city issues such as security, transport and the environment.
The Indonesian Consul General will accompany the Lord Mayor on her visit to Indonesia, which will also include a meeting with the newly elected Governor of West Java, Mr Ridwan Kamil.
International Engagement portfolio Chair Cr Philip Le Liu said the City of Melbourne's participation in global forums helps to promote Melbourne as a destination for international visitors and students.
"Victoria's international student economy is our largest export industry, generating $9.1 billion in revenue in 2016-17. More than 30 per cent of international students living in Melbourne come from China, so it's an incredibly important market for our city," Cr Le Liu said.
"These visits help to promote Melbourne as a great place to study and an enjoyable place to live."
Prosperous City portfolio Chair Cr Kevin Louey said the City of Melbourne has built up a strong network of international trade and government connections over many decades.
"Our international connections unlock doors for local businesses and link Melbourne companies to Asian markets," Cr Louey said.
"Our local businesses are elevated as they connect with like-minded businesses globally. We have helped facilitate the signing of memorandums of understanding so local businesses can engage in global trade and knowledge sharing opportunities."
- Victoria's trade relationship with China is worth more than $26 billion
- Victoria's international student economy is worth $9.1 billion a year
- More than 30 per cent of international students in Melbourne come from China
- Melbourne has one of the top five fastest-growing startup sectors globally, attracting international entrepreneurs, many of them from Asia
- Chinese visitors to Victoria spent $2.7 billion in 2017.
