VICTORIA – FOREIGN ECONOMIC RELATIONS – CHINA

Teaching Mandarin in Victorian schools, student exchange top of China strategy

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Original article by Chip Le Grand
The Age – Page: Online : 17-Sep-25

Closer education links with China will be a key part of the Victorian government’s so-called ‘China Strategy’. Premier Jacinta Allan has signed a memorandum of understanding during a personal meeting with China’s Minister for Education, Huai Jinpeng. The agreement includes a student exchange program at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels, while Victorian students will learn Mandarin. Allan has also announced that China’s Trina Solar has received approval for a $435m battery project in Victoria. However, she has declined to comment on a transport announcement that she is slated to make later this week, and whether it will include Chinese investment in the Suburban Rail Loop project.

CORPORATES
VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, CHINA. MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, TRINA SOLAR LIMITED

Allan off to Beijing – to win over voters

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Original article by Damon Johnson
The Australian – Page: 2 : 3-Sep-25

A Victorian government spokesperson has advised that Premier Jacinta Allan will head a five-day trade mission to China in mid-September. Allan will meet with Chinese politicians and business leaders, and the talks will focus on issues such as trade, education, tourism and innovation. She will be accompanied by a junior minister, as well as four Labor backbenchers whose electorate have a large number of Chinese-Australian voters. It will be Allan’s first major overseas trip since she replaced predecesser Daniel Andrews, who visited China six times when he was in office.

CORPORATES
VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Axe falls on Andrews’ BRI deal with China

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Original article by Ben Packham, Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 22-Apr-21

Australia’s strained relations with China may worsen after the federal government used the Foreign Relations Act to cancel Victoria’s agreement to participate in the controversial Belt and Road Initiative. Foreign Minister Marise Payne has used the new powers to veto the state government’s 2018 memorandum of understanding with regard to the BRI, as well as a subsequent framework agreement. Payne has also deemed that the Victorian government’s scientific co-operation agreement with Syria and an education and training deal with Iran are not in the national interest.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE

Belt and Road deal a cause for alarm

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Original article by John Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 8 : 23-Oct-20

President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser has expressed concern about the Victorian government’s deal to participate in China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster says that although the BRI agreement would generate some economic opportunities, it will "come with strings attached". This could include the expectation that local communities would have to support China’s foreign policy.

CORPORATES
UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Rip up the China deal

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Original article by Tom Minear, Clare Armstrong
Herald Sun – Page: 15 : 12-Jun-20

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has weighed into the controversy over the Victorian Government’s decision to sign up for China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Morrison has urged Premier Daniel Andrews to withdraw the state’s support for the infrastructure plan; he says the federal government does not believe that it is in Australia’s national interests, adding that the states and territories should not take actions that are inconsistent with the federal government’s foreign policy. Andrews says his government is fully committed to the Belt and Road Initiative.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET