Shandong mission a bi-lateral trade success
Government
GROWING bi-lateral trade and cementing relationships to help showcase South Australia in China are among the success stories of last month’s business mission to Shandong.
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Adelaide Lord Mayor Martin Haese accompanied 32 City of Adelaide businesses to Shandong as part of a broader 160-strong State Government mission.
The trip coincided with the 30th anniversary of South Australia’s Sister State relationship with Shandong and included visits to Adelaide’s Sister City Qingdao and Friendly City Dalian located in the Liaoning Province.
Haese said the City of Adelaide businesses were from a broad range of sectors including architecture, water management, aged care, financial services, banking, art restoration, sustainability, education, real estate tourism and investment.
He said using government relationships to establish business-to-business relationships was crucial to success in China.
“In China, relationships are everything. Following the successful delegation to China to build government-to-government relationship foundations in May 2015 and hosting a delegation from Qingdao in Adelaide in March earlier this year, we are now seeing tangible outcomes including export agreements and business partnerships.” Haese said.
“The expanding Chinese consumer market has a strong desire for South Australian grown premium produce, and there is also a growing demand for our technical knowhow, especially in the financial and professional service sectors, and also in medical technology and aged care.
“I believe the amount of bi-lateral trade between Adelaide and China will significantly increase in the coming years which will create new opportunities for the South Australian economy to grow.
“This council has a renewed focus on strengthening out Sister City relationships, as they present strong opportunities for City of Adelaide small and medium businesses to achieve growth.”
Sixty-five prominent businesswomen from Adelaide and Qingdao attended an Adelaide City Council networking event during the trip hosted by the Lady Mayoress, where City of Adelaide businesses were given an opportunity to share their stories and showcase some of their products.
Also during the April 5-9 mission, Adelaide City-based Pulteney Grammar School and Qingdao-based Huangdao District Taihang Road Primary School signed a Memorandum of Understanding to cement an exciting partnership.
Meanwhile, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the Royal Adelaide Club and the Qingdao International Beer Festival to participate in the August 2016 event.
The Australian Trade Alliance and The Social Creative (the driving force behind the Royal Croquet Club), will showcase South Australia to an audience of up to 5 million people at the August 2016 event.
Haese said the 6000sq m Royal Adelaide Club had the support of the Qingdao City Government and would be the largest installation at the event, which is the world’s second largest beer festival.
“The Royal Adelaide Club will showcase the very best Adelaide has to offer through our largest international cultural exchange undertaking. Over 4 million people are expected to visit the Qingdao Beer Festival this year, with attendees having the opportunity to experiences Adelaide’s finest fresh and premium foods, our most popular beers, world class fine wine and the best performers from the Adelaide Fringe Festival,” he said.
“We believe this will translate to increased cultural understanding and ties, while also having producing ongoing benefits to our tourism and education sectors, as well as bi-lateral trade.”
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