Xi's visit to bring China-Australia partnership to higher level

Chinese President Xi Jinping's upcoming visit to Australia, a tour aimed at enhancing mutual trust, expanding cooperation and boosting friendship, will surely lift the bilateral strategic partnership to a new level, says China's ambassador. [Special coverage]

It will be a historic visit of milestone significance to China-Australia relations, Ma Zhaoxu told Chinese reporters stationed in Australia.

Xi will attend the 9th Group of 20 (G20) Summit in Australia's Brisbane at the weekend, and will later pay a visit to Australia, his first to the country since taking office in 2013.

The ambassador hailed the all-round development of the China-Australia strategic partnership, which features increasingly solid political bond, ever stronger practical cooperation and more and more diverse people-to-people exchanges.

Leaders of the two sides have been in close contact through visits, meetings, telephone conversations and letters, Ma said, speaking highly of the development of some major bilateral mechanisms and cooperation frameworks in such areas as diplomacy, economy and defense.

China-Australia economic and trade cooperation has been growing both in scale and in scope, now covering not only traditional areas like energy and resources but also agriculture, investment, services, finance, infrastructure construction and small and medium-sized enterprises, Ma said.

China is Australia's largest trading partner, exports market, source of imports, and destination of service exports, Ma said, noting that two-way trade reached 136.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2013, a year-on-year rise of 11.5 percent.

Pointing out the similarity between Australia's plan to develop its northern regions and the Chinese project of developing its western areas, Ma said the two countries can communicate with and learn from each other to achieve common development.

The ambassador also lauded the role of bilateral people-to-people exchanges in deepening the ties between China and Australia.

China, Ma said, supports Australia's New Colombo Plan, a government initiative designed to offer Australian undergraduates opportunities for prestigious scholarships and grants for study and internships or mentorships in the Indo-Pacific region.

China will allow more Australian youths to study in China to help enhance mutual understanding, he said.

Ma also lauded the active interactions between the two countries at local levels, noting that the two sides now have over 90 pairs of sister cities or provinces.

China and Australia, Ma said, have cooperated closely in the search of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, which went missing supposedly over the Southern Indian Ocean on March 8 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

He also praised the two sides' frequent military exchanges, as well as their effective contact and cooperation on international and regional affairs.

Both countries are exerting greater efforts to conclude at an early date their Free Trade Agreement negotiations, which started in 2005, said Ma.

China stands ready to collaborate with Australia to fight terrorism, strengthen judicial and law enforcement cooperation, and track corrupt Chinese officials fleeing to Australia and their illicit assets, Ma said.

"We will make joint efforts with the Australian side ... to tap deeper into the great potential in bilateral cooperation and keep the bilateral strategic partnership developing at a high level," Ma said.

He added that the two sides should also continue enriching the content of their partnership, and contribute to the peace, stability and development of the Asia-Pacific region and the world at large.