Australia’s Queensland to open Shenzhen trade office with Hong Kong as ‘gateway’
State’s trade minister says her government is seeking cooperation with Chinese businesses in infrastructure, healthcare and clean energy
The Australian state of Queensland is opening a trade and investment office in Shenzhen as it seeks to court businesses and rebuild ties in mainland China and Hong Kong, with its finance minister calling the city a “gateway” for trade.
Queensland Minister for Finance, Trade, Employment and Training Ros Bates, who is leading a trade mission to mainland China and Hong Kong, said her state was “open for business” as she pointed to opportunities for cooperation in infrastructure, healthcare and clean energy.
Bates’ visit coincided with the release of the Queensland-China Trade and Investment Strategy 2025, in which she laid out the state’s “commitment to strong and enduring partnerships across China”.
Her visit also comes amid a wider thaw in relations between Australia and China, with Beijing lifting the last of its trade bans on Australian exports in December after imposing restrictions in 2020.
Speaking to the Post while in Hong Kong, Bates said she hoped to “reestablish” Queensland’s relationship with the city and the mainland following the Covid-19 pandemic.
Hong Kong, where the state government’s agency Trade and Investment Queensland first opened an office in 1991, served as a “gateway” for the mainland through which products could flow to and from Queensland, she said.