Andrews signs new Belt and Road deal with China: 'the right thing to do'
Jan 18, 2020
Victoria has signed a fresh deal with the Chinese government and its global Belt and Road infrastructure project with Premier Daniel Andrews urging other Australian governments to follow suit.
The agreement, signed in Beijing on Wednesday evening, will deepen cooperation between the state and the Communist-ruled country in the key areas of infrastructure, innovation, ageing and trade development.
Wednesday’s deal was signed only a few hours after federal Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton questioned whether the Premier’s trade efforts in China were in the “national interest”.
"Why does he believe this is in our national interest? Why does he believe it's in Victoria's interest?" Mr Dutton told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday."It's a decision that's been made by Mr Andrews, so he can justify the decision. I haven't heard the rationale or the reasoning behind what seemed to be a pretty rushed decision."
The new deal follows on from a memorandum of understanding between Victoria and China on the Belt and Road initiative signed in 2018, which also attracted criticism from the federal Coalition government.
The Premier shrugged off concerns on Wednesday about Victoria strengthening its ties with China at a time when the Australian government’s relationships with the rising power was strained.
Mr Andrews encouraged other state governments and the Commonwealth to follow Victoria’s example.
“We’d always hope that the federal government would have a similar approach to us, to work closely with China for the benefit of Victorian workers, and I note the Prime Minister has had some meetings with some very senior Chinese officials in the last couple of days,” the Premier said.
“I think most Australians would say that was good.
“We need a strong partnership, Victoria has one, and we would hope that every state and territory and indeed the Commonwealth would have a strong partnership and a friendship with China.”
The agreement sets out a number of areas of co-operation, including attempts to get more Chinese companies involved in Victoria’s massive $107 billion infrastructure “big build” and for companies from the state to get work on the Belt and Road projects around the world.
The Premier said the new agreement would give Victorian firms the “inside running” on infrastructure projects in China and in other countries.
“The most important partnerships are built on trust and hard work,” he said.
“Construction, globally, is a very, very competitive industry ... and anything we can do to give Victorian companies and Victorian workers an edge, that’s exactly the right thing to do.”
The deal also aims to increase collaboration in high-end manufacturing, biotech, agriculture technology and to share expertise and training in social areas such as aged care.
China and Victoria also hope to build two-way trade in food and cosmetics with talks already underway on accreditation of Victorian abattoirs to supply beef and lamb to China.
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