A group of Australians has just met in Beijing with Chinese government officials and non-government representatives. Called the Australia China high-level dialogue it's the first-time talks have happened since early 2020. Representatives from the wine, tourism, energy, and media sectors were among those in attendance.
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00:00 This is the first opportunity since 2020 to have this kind of conversation.
00:07 My understanding is that this was the product of a conversation Penny Wong had with the
00:12 Foreign Minister.
00:14 It's about building relationship and rebooting that relationship in some ways.
00:20 Now given that relationship between Australia and China has been on rocky grounds, from
00:25 this meeting, what indication did you get that China is willing to work closely again
00:29 with Australia?
00:30 Look, I think it was a very warm meeting.
00:34 It was an incredibly frank meeting.
00:36 I think the general flavour would be it's the kind of conversation that you can only
00:41 actually have with friends because of the level of frankness and engagement.
00:46 So what are some of the outcomes that we can expect to see from this meeting?
00:50 Look, I hope a warmer relationship, an opportunity to discuss a whole range of matters, very
00:56 specific matters.
00:58 For example, in terms of the tourism sector, we're thrilled that group travel is now back
01:04 on the agenda.
01:05 But clearly, from our perspective, there are ways that we could improve that customer experience
01:10 for people travelling in both directions.
01:12 So there are conversations we'd like to have.
01:15 I think this sort of relationship building environment gives you the chance to do that.
01:22 So how can you improve those customer relationships that you're talking about?
01:27 Look, I think, you know, for example, the process of the border.
01:32 So you know, the process of getting a visa, etc, etc.
01:35 How do we make that seamless border exercise while still having the appropriate safety
01:40 provisions for our border and China's border?
01:43 How do we make that a little bit easier for travellers and encourage what really has to
01:47 be the backbone of better people to people relationships?
01:50 And that's having more Australians travel here and more Chinese coming back to Australia.
01:56 Now at this meeting, there were a range of representatives from wine to academia, media,
02:00 you're there because of tourism.
02:02 What specifically did you raise in this meeting?
02:05 Well, from from the tourism industry in Australia, probably the big issue is capacity, aviation
02:13 capacity between Australia and New Zealand.
02:16 And Chinese airlines have already stepped up to the plate and are bringing on more seats
02:21 into the market.
02:23 Certainly, we're hoping to see more capacity in that space.
02:26 And we've been talking about what might be possible, the seamless border piece and trying
02:31 to make it an easier overall experience when we travel between each other's countries.
02:36 And I think some opportunities, you know, it's not always about things we need to fix.
02:40 There are some significant opportunities in the in the mix at the moment, whether it be
02:44 things like sustainable aviation fuel, we're both long haul destinations in some ways.
02:50 So what are we doing in that sustainability space?
02:53 And what could we be doing together?
02:54 So I think there's a lot of opportunities and we're looking forward to some sort of
03:00 future conversations.
03:02 So in terms of the number of Chinese visitors to Australia, what were the figures pre-COVID
03:07 pandemic?
03:08 Where are they at now?
03:09 And how long is it going to take to get back to that original figure?
03:13 Before COVID, the Chinese were our number one source of international visitors.
03:18 And not just a source, they were, you know, friends.
03:21 We were very happy to see so many Chinese visitors and they are probably one of the
03:25 highest spending visitor groups as well.
03:28 Now they're probably sitting somewhere around about fourth or fifth on the list.
03:32 And we'd certainly like to see a return to where we were before COVID.
03:36 But a lot of that will be generated by things like aviation capacity and to be honest, cost
03:41 of living too.
03:43 We sort of sometimes think that the whole cost of living issue only affects Australia.
03:47 But of course, that's absolutely not true.
03:49 It's a global issue and certainly one that I'm sure is having some impact here in China
03:55 on people's travel plans.
03:56 So what happens if we don't get back to those original figures, those large number of Chinese
04:01 tourists coming here?
04:03 Well, I think the important thing is the industry and people like Tourism Australia have been
04:07 significantly diversifying.
04:09 We've seen great growth in the India market.
04:13 And I think there will continue to be a high level of interest in coming to Australia.
04:18 But we have a special relationship with China and we'd certainly like to see those Chinese
04:22 visitors back.
04:23 And Ruby the Roo is very big here in China.
04:28 And I've just come from a breakfast and everybody has told me how they've seen Ruby the Roo
04:31 on TV here.
04:33 So we certainly hope she's having an impact at this end.
04:36 And there's no doubt there's a high recognition level.
04:39 Do you see capacity and cost as the key issues here?
04:43 Or is it more to do with the relationship between Australia and China?
04:47 We're still very, very high on the aspiration list for Chinese travellers.
04:52 So we'd be in the top three places in the world they want to go.
04:55 There will always be additional factors that affect that.
04:59 But we're on the bucket list, I suppose, is the important thing.
05:02 And campaigns like Ruby are about reminding people how special a visit to Australia really
05:08 is.
05:09 So I think the indications at a very early stage, particularly now that group travel
05:14 is back on the agenda, are very positive.
05:17 And I would say the industry is quite encouraged.
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