Western Australian Premier Announces Visit to China

Security personnel stand guard at Zhongnanhai near Tiananmen Square ahead of China's 20th Communist Party Congress in Beijing on October 13, 2022. NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty Images

Western Australian Premier Roger Cook will embark on his first trip to China as leader of the state in late November.

He is the latest Australian Labor leader to visit the region, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese travelling to Beijing to meet Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping from Nov. 4. to 7.

While in China, Mr. Cook will join “high-level meetings” with Chinese authorities, stakeholders, and industry leaders in both Sichuan and Shanghai.

Former Premier Mark McGowan met with Chinese authorities in April 2023, while South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas went to Beijing in September.

WA’s Biggest Trading Partner

China is the largest trading partner of Western Australia, absorbing 55 percent of exports in the 2023 financial year.

The premier hopes to promote “mutually beneficial” outcomes between the state and China while exploring new investment and trade opportunities.

West Australian Premier Roger Cook speaks to media at Dumas House in Perth, Australia on Jun. 29.  Mr. Cook will be travelling to China on his first visit as Primer. Picture: Matt Jelonek/Getty Images

During the four-day mission from Nov. 20 to 24, the premier will visit the Sichuan Province in the country’s southwest. This province is home to 83 million people and is seen as a gateway to the greater southwest region.

The Western Australian (WA) government will promote tourism, international education, and aviation during the trip.

In Shanghai, Mr. Cook will meet with resources and aviation industry leaders and investors from the Chinese energy sector. Direct flights between China and Australia are also reportedly on the agenda.

The premier will also “undertake high-level meetings with key Chinese officials to help raise the profile of WA in China and to ”deepen the bilateral relationship.”

In China, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is the power that controls all government departments, courts, and the military.

Empty streets during COVID-19 lockdown in Shanghai on Apr. 1, 2022. STR/AFP via Getty Images

Plans to ‘Deepen’ Relationship

Mr. Cook said he is excited to embark on his first official mission to China as the state premier.

“This visit presents an exciting opportunity to build Western Australia’s profile in China and showcase our strengths and capabilities to the emerging market in southwest China,” Mr. Cook said.

“China is WA’s largest trading partner and has been the state’s largest market for goods exports over the past 17 years, as well as accounting for 55 percent of the state’s goods exports in 2022-23.”

The Premier said the mission is a fantastic opportunity to deepen the relationship and explore new avenues together.

“The relationship that WA has with China is mutually beneficial, and one that has created thousands of local jobs and a long investment and trade history,” Mr. Cook said.

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meets China’s President Xi Jinping in a bilateral meeting during the 2022 G20 summit in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, on Nov. 15, 2022. Mr. Albanese will travel to Beijing from Nov. 4 to 7 AAP Image/Mick Tsikas