以下是英文原件，转载于The West Australian

Early in the morning on September 26, I joined Premier Mark McGowan and Tourism Minister Paul Papalia in Chinatown in Northbridge to announce the big news of China Eastern Airlines’ launch of the trial flights between Shanghai and Perth in the coming Chinese spring festival season.

We were all in an upbeat mood. It was noted in the news coverage that Mr Papalia was grinning from ear to ear.

I fully shared the joy and understood how much endeavour has been put into it and how much it means.

It should not be taken for granted. It was announced at a time when Sino-Australia bilateral relations are encountering difficulties and uncertainties. It could not have been possible without the persistent efforts by the McGowan Government, in particular the Premier and Mr Papalia. It has finally paid off.

It should not be taken lightly. A new direct flight, in addition to that of China Southern Airlines between Guangzhou and Perth, will enhance connectivity between China and WA via Shanghai, not only in terms of two-way travel of people but also of goods and services. It means more opportunities for trade and investment as well as more frequent and convenient people-to-people exchanges, which will ultimately lead to wider cooperation and stronger ties between China and WA.

I was excited over the news. Shanghai is my favourite city and I understand why everyone I meet here loves Shanghai.

It blends an aura of nostalgia with buzzing modernity and boasts world-class shopping, dining and cultural experiences.

Even more, Shanghai stands at the centre of the Yangtze River delta region including Zhejiang province, which entered into sister relations with WA in 1987. It takes only 48 minutes from Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang, to Shanghai by high-speed train. This is a region enjoying the most robust economic growth, the highest level of opening up and the strongest innovation capacities in China, with its GDP nearing one quarter of the national total. The Chinese Government has made it a national strategy this year to bolster the integrated development of the region, with measures to advance innovation-driven development and upgrade its industry chains.

There is huge potential if WA could establish closer and stronger ties through direct connections to this region and beyond in attracting tourists and students, as well as promoting trade and investment.

On a larger picture, China continues to present great opportunities to Australia and WA. China’s urbanisation rate of permanent residents reached 59.6 per cent in 2018 and will increase steadily. This will boost demands in various areas, such as infrastructure, real estate, new retail, medical treatment and public health, education, culture and entertainment, thus providing an enormous market for all countries.

According to the latest report, China takes a record 38 per cent of Australian exports.

Meanwhile, more and more Chinese enterprises will invest outside of China, and more Chinese will study, work and travel abroad. In recent years, China has maintained its position as the world’s largest source of overseas tourists. In 2018, Chinese outbound tourists numbered nearly 150 million.

The Chinese people often say, “the world is a big place, and I want to see just more of it”.

And President Xi Jinping said this week, “the Chinese market is such a big one that you should all come and see what it has to offer”.

WA has long-term and solid foundations of cooperation with China, but it is lagging behind the east coast in some aspects in recent years.

Chinese investment in WA accounted for only 3 per cent of China’s total in Australia in 2018. While WA maintains its strength in the resources sector and still accounts for 58 per cent of Australia’s total exports to China, it has got to explore the potential for cooperation in more areas.

The direct flight will provide a great opportunity to release this potential. I must confess that Perth is not that well-known to Chinese people, even in the most advanced region around Shanghai.

So we should seize this opportunity to promote brand WA not only as a mining State, but far more than that. I have been calling upon people to take China Eastern direct flights on every occasion ever since the State Government announced the news.

The business community has been very supportive. One Chinese company has already booked 50 seats on the first flight to Shanghai. The Chinese community has been enthusiastic in joining this endeavour as well.

But we need to do more. I think both sides need to stretch out to communicate and have a better understanding of how each other’s systems work. Both sides should make extra efforts rather than being complacent with the status quo.

On the policy level, China-Australia bilateral relations will to a large extent set the tone for the future of WA’s relationship with China. It is in the fundamental interests of WA economy that this partnership be kept sound and robust. The recent meeting between Premier Li Keqiang and Prime Minister Scott Morrison in Bangkok sent out a positive signal. As the world economy is facing increasing downward pressure, closer cooperation between China and Australia becomes all the more important for both sides.

WA took the lead in ushering in an era of mutually beneficial cooperation during the past 30 years by initiating the Channar Iron Ore project and the Northwest Shelf LNG project in the late 1980s. Today, at this critical juncture of China-Australia relations, WA can take the lead again. It is important that the voice from the west coast be heard on the way ahead.

The Premier and Treasurer’s visits to China this year are very timely and productive in promoting two-way trade and investment. On the practical level, we need to facilitate cooperation and exchanges between local governments, parliaments, businesses, universities and schools.

We should help more WA small and medium-sized enterprises to enter the Chinese market, while providing favourable conditions to Chinese investment without unwarranted political impediments.

I visited Rottnest Island last weekend and found out the origin of its name while trying hard to take a selfie with the smiling quokka. I am fully convinced that as the unofficial mascot of WA, quokkas symbolize and embody blessings of the Year of the Rat.

I thus encourage my Chinese compatriots to fly to WA to spend their spring festival holidays here. And I encourage people in WA to travel to Shanghai for a taste of the Chinese lunar New Year. This will not only be wonderful personal experience, but also contribute to the success of the trial flights, which will strengthen connectivity between China and WA and ultimately lead to a promising future of our shared prosperity.