CCTV9英语新闻：Australia Week in China to kick off in Guangzhou

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is leading the country’s largest trade mission ever to China -with almost 1,000 people from a variety of business sectors - all of whom have one common goal in mind: To capitalise on business opportunities with Australia’s biggest trading partner.

Australia Week in China is to be held on April 11-15, the delegation of Australian business leaders will travel to Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Xiamen, Shenyang and Hangzhou.

Australia Week in China is to be held on April 11-15, the delegation of Australian business leaders will travel to Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Xiamen, Shenyang and Hangzhou.

For Malcolm Turnbull, his first official trip to China as Australia’s Prime Minister gives him a break from his recent political problems back home.

Those include shrinking poll numbers in an election year. The scope of his China trip - leading the largest trade mission every beyond the country’s shores - presents Australian businesses and industries with a unique opportunity.

"I think it is game changing, it is really taking an advantage of signing an agreement, the Chinese Australia Free Trade Agreement, it’s taking beyond an agreement and actually putting it into action," Grame Barty with Austrade said.

Austrade’s Grame Barty says the week-long trade mission will send one thousand people from a variety of backgrounds across China.

"In particular taking companies that may not have been exposed to China, but the thing that we are really doing is the size of the delegation - a thousand delegates, in basketball terms a full court press across China, eight simultaneous training missions in areas of expertise and where we believe Australia has a competitive edge and capability," Barty said.

Barty will lead an innovation team that includes people from research institutions, incubators, and even start ups.

"The particular angle for this particular stream is to introduce companies and innovators that have a particular capability that will make a difference to Chinese companies or corporates or areas that are trying to promote a global capability," Barty said.

There’s a financial side to all of this. Austrade says the previous Australia week in 2014 helped to contribute to more than a billion dollars in export sales.

The latest trade mission follows the official start of the China Australia Free Trade agreement - signed last year under former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

"That in itself says the FTA has a head turning effect in Australia and our aim with this mission is to provide a head turning effect within China about Australia’s interest in a deeper engagement in China," Barty said.

And Barty says Australia hopes to accomplish that goal by showcasing the best the country has to offer.