It is such a pleasure to be with you in Shanghai today.
An event like this helps put not just a face on a profoundly important international relationship – but many.
I would like to thank all the hardworking staff of the Fairmont Peace Hotel – ably led by Australian general manager George Wee – for looking after us so well.
This hotel is an auspicious venue for Labor leaders. It was here in 1971, the year before he became Prime Minister, that Gough Whitlam marked his 55th birthday.
The celebration was, of course, part of an even bigger milestone – the historic first visit that laid the foundations for Australia’s relationship with the People’s Republic of China.
More than half a century on, it is a relationship that continues to evolve and grow, a relationship with a maturity that helps us overcome any challenges and seize the opportunities before us.
It is a relationship whose health and strength rests in no small part on your shoulders.
I’ve been delighted to have the opportunity to speak to so many of Australia’s business leaders here in China, and your Chinese counterparts.
Thank you for your leadership in driving such impressive growth in two-way business ties.
And for your contribution to a more stable and productive relationship between our two nations.
One of my Government’s priorities has been working hard with counterparts in China to stabilise ties and to build dialogue.
We are guided by a straightforward ethos: Co-operating where we can, disagreeing where we must, and at every step engaging in our national interest.
It is a policy framework that has enabled us to manage our differences wisely, and build on all the areas where we can and should work together, in the shared interest of both our nations.
That includes finding areas for co-operation as we decarbonise our economies and work with countries around the world to meet our Paris Agreement targets.
This is a task that will sometimes challenge us, but crucially, one that holds out such an extraordinary range of opportunities for us.
Australia has a long and proud story of providing energy to our region and the world. Now is our chance to continue that story with a new chapter, one in which our country takes its place as a renewable energy superpower.
I look forward to further discussions on these issues with China’s leaders tomorrow in Beijing.
The removal of impediments to Australian exports to China and the resumption of trade has already delivered significant benefits to communities in both countries – the result of a great deal of patient and deliberate work.
It was gratifying earlier this year to know that Australian produce was part of the enjoyment of Chinese New Year celebrations.
There were families in Shanghai and Beijing and beyond enjoying Australian beef together, friends exchanging gifts of Australian cherries, and toasting the Year of the Snake with the best wine in the world.
It is a success story that benefits everyone, from producers to consumers. So I am delighted that we have Australian beef and seafood on our tables today – and, thanks to Treasury Wine Estates and Penfolds, proudly Australian wine.
This is just part of the bigger success story that Australia can tell. It’s a story of a dependable trade partner backed by a strong, reliable economy.
It’s a story built not just on our abundance of natural resources, but on the strength of our greatest resource of all: our people in all their diversity of skill, talent and drive, including the many who are rightly proud of their Chinese heritage.
Put it all together and you have not just the strength right now, but the exciting prospects of our potential. A nation with the resources and the skill for a stronger, greener Future Made in Australia.
This brings benefits at home, and it brings benefits to our trade partners.
What is central is the dialogue of which you are all part. Dialogue leads to understanding and trade drives prosperity.
What really helps to deepen connection is the movement of people.
China is Australia’s largest market by spend, and second largest inbound tourism market by visitor numbers.
In the 12 months to March 2025 there were 860,000 trips to Australia by visitors from China, with a total spend in Australia of $9.2 billion.
Inbound travel from China has recently been growing at a faster pace than other markets.
And every Chinese traveller who visits our shores goes home with a better picture of who we are. We shouldn’t underestimate how much that matters in what we are building together.
And we have much to build upon – in terms of trade, finance, culture, history, and of course the international language of sport.
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of walking on the Bund with former Socceroos Kevin Muscat and Ross Aloisi, and a player from their team – Shanghai Port Football Club.
In his first year as club manager, Kevin led Shanghai Port FC to victory in the Chinese Super League.
A partnership producing real results.
What I feel when I look across this room is even greater hope for the future.
And if we’re looking for compelling place to talk about the future, we’re in it. Shanghai epitomises what is one of the truly remarkable stories of our time: the economic development of China.
It is a story that continues to be written, and you are helping to write it.
Shanghai’s importance as a hub cannot be overstated.
Crucially, many Australian businesses have selected Shanghai as their headquarters in China, including Rio Tinto, BHP, Fortescue, BlueScope, Macquarie, ANZ, CBA and NAB.
Last year, bilateral trade in goods between Australia and Shanghai was around $42 billion.
In terms of two-way goods, Shanghai would be our fifth largest trading partner – just behind South Korea and ahead of India.
It’s part of an important bigger picture of the high degree of complementarity our two economies enjoy.
Next Thursday will mark 52 years since our first trade agreement.
Last year, Australia’s two-way goods and services trade with China reached $312 billion, accounting for almost a third of Australia’s exports and representing 25 per cent of Australia’s total goods and services trade.
That is larger than our next three trade partners combined.
There is no fixed model for a stabilised relationship. Our job is to make sure that we manage our relationship so that we can contribute to regional and global peace and prosperity.
Dialogue advances co-operation and addressing our differences without allowing them to define us.
And none of this happens without you.
That is what so much of this comes down to. Amid the broad brushstrokes of trade negotiations and diplomacy.
It’s about the people-to-people connections and the networks that grow out of those connections.
It’s about your drive, your initiative, your ambition, and your vision.
It’s about the difference you make – and keep on making every single day.
Thank you.