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Related documents: Position paper on Sister State and
Sister City Relations Between Australia and China Chamber letter to Sister City News Information about cities
and provinces in China. |
MAKING SISTER CITY RELATIONS WORK FOR THE ECONOMIC 12 March 2002 Sponsoring organisations: Local Government and
Shires Associations NSW (LGSA) Australian Sister
Cities Association (ASCA) Australia China
Chamber of Commerce and Industry of New South Wales (ACCCI) |
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Introduction I would like to
focus on Sister State relationships from the NSW perspective. International Sister State
Relationships The NSW
Government pursues bilateral business development programs through its
network of international sister-state relationships and memorandums of
understanding with foreign governments. The NSW
Government currently has sister state relationships with: Guangdong Province of China Tokyo of Japan Seoul of Korea Jakarta of Indonesia and California of the USA. MOUs have been signed with” North Rhine-Westphalia of
Germany Colorado of USA Wales of UK Lebanon and Kelantan of Malaysia. The Department of State and
Regional Development (DSRD) is
responsible for the overall management of these Sister State
Relationships/MOU’s and for co-ordination of the attendant business and
exchange programs. The Department is the central
point of liaison between NSW and overseas regions. Individual agencies are
responsible for arranging and funding individual programs. These relationships serve to
promote and facilitate the establishment of direct links between NSW
organisations and the overseas regions to pursue mutually beneficial
activities in a wide range of fields including the
areas of economics, culture, and education. NSW-Guangdong
Sister State Relationship Some 22 years ago
(1979), the first Sister State Relationship between an Australian State and a
Province of China was established.
Political leaders at the time saw the potential to promote friendly
relations between the regions of NSW and Guangdong by developing trade,
investment, cultural and sporting links. The Sister State
Relationship was followed in 1987 by the establishment of a sister city
relationship between Guangdong’s capital city Guangzhou and Sydney. One of the major
consequences of both these relationships has been closer economic co-operation
between Australia/NSW and China. Trade and Investment In 2000/01, NSW total bilateral
merchandise trade with China reached A$5.3billion. China is NSW’s 6th largest
merchandise export market (worth A$945 million) and 3rd largest import market
(valued at A$4.4 billion). NSW
accounts for about a third of Australia’s total trade with China. The principal activity of the
NSW – Guangdong Relationship is periodic Joint Economic Meetings (JEM) which have been held
alternatively in Guangzhou and Sydney since 1982. These meetings bring together a
wide range of businesses, government agencies and institutions for the
purpose of identifying opportunities to co-operate and work together. This Sister State Relationship
has ensured a regular two-way flow of delegations at provincial/state and
city government levels and has afforded NSW businesses and institutions opportunities
to access Guangdong Government officials, business people and decision makers
at the highest level in order to
initiate or progress trade, investment and project opportunities in
Guangdong. Increasingly, Guangdong is being
seen by NSW companies as the place to establish strategic alliances to serve
other emerging areas of China as well as the province’s large and sophisticated
markets. Examples During the November 2000 visit
to Guangdong, the NSW Premier gave his support to NSW companies’ bids for
contracts for Guangzhou’s new Baiyun Airport. The inaugural flight of China
Southern Airlines from Guangzhou to Sydney was also announced. China Southern
Airlines commenced direct flights between Sydney and Guangzhou in December
2000, considerably enhancing the potential for increased tourist and business
traffic between the two regions. A NSW Trade Mission
to China will visit Shanghai and Beijing from next Monday (18 March 2002).
The Mission is being organised and managed by DSRD under the Government's New
Export Opportunities Program designed to encourage new and existing exporters
to seek out new international markets. 41 representatives
from 28 companies and two government agencies are participating in the
Mission, making it one of the largest such missions to travel overseas in
recent years. China’s Entry to the World Trade
Organisation China’s recent accession into
the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has not only resulted in China’s reduction
in tariffs but is also liberalising access to the nation’s services sector
thereby assisting both Governments in working to ensure closer economic
co-operation. With China’s entry to the WTO,
trade and investment relations between NSW and Guangdong will enter a new era
of growth and opportunity. Social and Cultural objectives
of the Sister State Relationships. The increase in
international trade and investment are the most tangible benefits of Sister
State and City affiliations. However,
the most frequently touted benefits of these relationships are the promotion
of goodwill, understanding and the cultivation of friendship between the
peoples of Sister States and Cities. International exchange,
by necessity, involves people. People
are the keystone to successful exchange and are consequently key players in
the Sister State and City Relationships. Social and cultural way of life of
course form part of this exchange. The Sister State
Relationships with Tokyo and Seoul both provide umbrellas for exchanges of
information and personnel. The California
Sister State Relationship with NSW was established to engage in social,
economic, educational, scientific and cultural exchanges of mutual benefit. Jakarta’s Sister
State Relationship with NSW seeks to enhance co-operation particularly in the
areas of urban development, geographic information systems, education,
training and tourism. The Sister State
Relationship between NSW and Guangdong has contributed significantly to
positive relations between Australia and China generally. I am sure that the
long-standing business and cultural associations we have formed over the past
22 years will continue to underpin the growth of trade and investment relations
and foster increasing co-operation between our two regions. Indeed, our
relationship is more relevant today than at any time in its twenty-two year
history. There is no one
winning formula which ensures the success of every international sister affiliation.
There are, however, different exchanges, associations and programs for the
individual sister state relationships. I think the new Australian hero from the Salt Lake City Olympics, Steve
Bradbury, and his tactics typify this – that there is always a strategy that
will win the race. |
