On the morning of September 23, Yin Yong, Mayor of Beijing, met with Nicholas Reece, Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Australia.

Yin noted that Chinese President Xi Jinping had a productive meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in July this year, charting a new course for the development of China-Australia relations. Under their strategic guidance, China-Australia relations have continued to improve in recent years. Sub-national exchanges play a vital role in bilateral relations. Beijing stands ready to work with Melbourne in implementing the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, further advancing the friendly ties between the two cities and making concrete contributions to the steady growth of China-Australia relations. Beijing, with its rich educational, technological, and talent resources, is accelerating the building of an international innovation hub. The city is boosting high-end, precision, and cutting-edge industries such as artificial intelligence and new energy vehicles, and has gathered a large number of leading innovative enterprises, forming three “trillion-yuan industrial clusters” in next-generation information technology, tech services, and healthcare. Beijing adheres to the vision of green development and continue to fight against pollution. Efforts have been made to promote the green transition of key sectors such as energy and electricity. Building upon its achievements as a forest city and park city, Beijing is vigorously advancing the garden city initiative. These efforts have led to a sustained improvement in air quality. Yin hoped the two sides to deepen exchanges and expand practical cooperation in sci-tech innovation, healthcare, and green development, while boosting people-to-people and cultural exchanges in fields like education and culture, ultimately enhancing the well-being of the two peoples.

Reece spoke highly of Beijing’s achievements in urban development, noting that Australia and China are each other’s important partner. He added that the cooperation between Melbourne and Beijing has yielded fruitful results in recent years. Melbourne stands ready to work with Beijing to deliver on the consensus reached by the two heads of state, foster friendly ties between the two cities, and deepen exchanges and cooperation in economy and trade, education, science and technology, healthcare and the green economy, thereby contributing to the steady growth of bilateral relations.

Zeng Jin, Secretary General of the People’s Government of Beijing Municipality, attended the meeting.