5 May 2009
Australian Urban Planning and Design Seminar and Opening of Out from Under Exhibition
Kunming, China
Introduction
Vice Mayor Chen, Vice Director Li and Vice Director Mou.
It is a great pleasure to be back again in China for my fifth visit since becoming Trade Minister.
Australia and China are creating an economic partnership that is prospering and diversifying - despite the global recession.
One month ago, I was in Beijing for discussions about the Free Trade Agreement between our two nations.
Today, I am here in Kunming in the south west of China and tomorrow I will be in Wuhan which is often described as the gateway to western China.
The Australian Government is building the relationship with China on many levels. The purpose of this visit to further develop and diversify our relationship with China - especially through the inland provinces - such as Yunnan by visiting the capital Kunming.
Today I had a roundtable discussion with resources companies and yesterday I had a similar exercise with agribusiness companies. These meetings highlights how interdependent the region and Australia is - in agribusiness, resources, manufacturing, construction.
Your seminar today indicates interdependency in the services sector, specifically urban design.
Our task is not just to recognise this interdependency, but develop a better framework to strengthen and deepen it.
We have agreed to develop a Memorandum of Understanding for the agribusiness sector, and I think we should do likewise for the resources and commercial sector.
So, we are committed to enlarge and diversify commercial relationships between Australia and China at the company-to-company level at the same time as we pursue a conclusion to the Free Trade Agreement.
It is a two-track approach where we are expanding our commercial relationships throughout all parts of China at the same time as we keep pushing FTA negotiations.
The second track can also create a dynamic for the first track.
Yesterday I had the pleasure of holding talks with the mayor of Kunming, Mr Zhang Zulin.
Mr Zhang apologised to me because he said the city looked like a big construction site.
But I joked with him that it was not a problem.
All this construction reflects strong economic growth - and growth means new and exciting opportunities for Australian companies.
Trade and the Recession
Trade and investment are a critical part of our relationship.
China is one of Australia's most important trading partners. China became Australia's largest two-way trading partner in 2007-08.
The global financial crisis has affected us all, though to differing degrees.
The IMF recently forecast that the world economy will contract by 1.3 per cent in 2009 and that trade volumes will fall by 11 per cent.
The IMF has downgraded its growth forecast for China but it is still forecasting China will grow by 6.5 per this year - more than any other country.
We are in the midst of a worldwide recession, but maintaining an open global trading and investment system is a priority for Australia.
Trade is part of the solution to the crisis, not the problem.
Trade acts as a multiplier and will enhance the world's fiscal stimulus packages and hasten the global recovery.
There also needs to be strong recognition that investment is the new form of trade, beyond the exchange of goods and services.
As part of the FTA negotiations with China, Australia is pushing for a foreign investment framework to be included.
There is important Chinese investment in Australia and we encourage foreign investment that is in our national interest.
But foreign investment with China should be a two-way street. You invest with us, we invest with you.
An open investment regime helps reassure people that the benefits of foreign investment will be shared.
Today, I'd like to talk about another area of opportunity for cooperation with Australia's expertise in urban design and green buildings.
China's Great Urban Challenge
China's rapid economic transformation since the late 1970s is one of the most momentous events in history.
China is becoming an economic powerhouse and helping to transform the Asia Pacific into the centre of global growth in the 21st century.
And yet the speed and scale of this economic growth is creating a unique set of pressures.
Millions are now seeking a more prosperous life in the cities, placing pressure on China's available housing stocks, infrastructure and the environment.
China now has the world's largest urban population of 600 million people, or 45 per cent of the total population of 1.3 billion.
That means China's cities will have to house an extra 400 million people over the coming decades.
Australia's designers, architects and builders have the skills which can help China house the next generation in a sustainable way.
Australia's Designers
Australian architectural designs reflect a balance between concern for the environment, energy conservation, and the pressures of economic growth.
The qualities which make Australian architects and designers relevant to China's urban problems are on display at today's exhibition, Out from Under.
As Anthony Burke, the curator, recently noted Australian architecture is no longer based on traditions centred on the Australian "bush" or "surf".
Our architecture has adapted to the problems all urban societies must manage, challenges such as:
Australia's designers are innovative. They have broad regional experience. They work in the Asian time zone. They are strategic in their planning.
Most importantly, they are developing a unique Australian view of how to blend environmental and aesthetic concerns with the demands of a modern city.
I note that an Australian architect, Chris Bosse from the Sydney firm of PTW, was one of the designers of the striking Water Cube at the Beijing Olympics.
Some of Chris' work is on display at today's exhibition.
The Water Cube, or the National Aquatic Centre Beijing, reflects the essence of what Australian architects can contribute.
The cube is elegant, energy efficient, functional and original.
Australia can share these architectural skills with China and build a greater platform for cooperation between our two nations.
Conclusion
Australia's leading architects and builders are working on projects big and small throughout China.
Companies like Dynalite, Aurecon, GHD, CSR, Hassell, Jackson Architects, BAU, Austro Vac, I.A.P.A and BlueScope.
These Australian companies offer innovative solutions to China's urban planning challenges, but there is much more they can do if there is closer cooperation.
Before I open today's exhibition, I'd like to mention the celebrated Australian architect, Glenn Murcutt.
A few years ago, Glenn won the world's most prestigious architectural award, the Pritzker Prize, for his original designs.
His buildings reflect simplicity and respect for the environment.
Glenn uses an Aboriginal saying to describe the philosophy underlying his work: Touch this Earth Lightly.
Out from Under, is about Touching this Earth Lightly, but also sharing the concept and its adaptation.
It is with great pleasure I declare this exhibition open. Thank you.
[ENDS]
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