Han Ximin

A GATHERING of Australian people working and living in Shenzhen gave them the chance to exchange business and living experiences in the city.

“I want to establish a long-term, say 10 to 20 years, or everlasting business relationship with China, and don’t want one-sale and one-time business,” said Trent Rothwell, business development manager of the Safe-T-Trade, a founding member of the Australia Shenzhen Trade and Commerce Council, at a business networking night at InterContinental Hotel yesterday.

This is the second time a networking night has been held since the establishment of the council a few months ago. Australian Consul General Lyall Crawford was invited to attend the evening.

“The consulate focuses on trade and business exchanges between the Pearl River Delta area and Australia and hope to establish long-term and strong business and investment ties between the two regions,” said Crawford. “Through my contacts with Chinese companies, I found Shenzhen companies were very progressive and quick to respond, maybe it is because the city is young and full of energy,” said Crawford.

China has overtaken Japan to become Australia’ No. 1 trading partner with a total trade worth more than A$52.7 billion (US$47 billion).

“In Australian supermarkets, 95 percent of the items sold, especially clothes, building materials and electronic products, are made in China. Chinese products have dominated Australian markets, that is the reason why so many Australian companies want to find suppliers from China,” said Rothwell.

“The responsibility of the council in Shenzhen is to help find reliable, good Chinese suppliers for Australian buyers,” he said.

Although Crawford did not say how many Australian companies were involved in the Pearl River Delta region, he said that there were at least 7,000 Australians under the consulate’s administration area, which covers China’s southern provinces.