Photo: Chen Xia/GT

Shanghai hopes to further enhance different fields' cooperation with Western Australia - Australia's largest state - said Shanghai Mayor Gong Zheng, when meeting with the state's Premier Roger Cook on Thursday, as there is rising understanding between the two countries.

Gong said there is huge cooperation potential between the two markets, as Western Australia is an important market in Australia with abundant resources and strong ability in technology research.

"We hope to further promote in-depth exchanges among universities, scientific research institutions and enterprises, and strengthen innovative cooperation in green development, high-end manufacturing, biomedicine and other fields," Gong said, according to Shanghai Fabu, the city administration's social media account.

Cook said that Western Australia is the economic engine of Australia with robust exports of iron and lithium ore, and it is also actively developing forms of green energy and renewable energy.

"There is big space for cooperation, and we hope to have a close connection with Shanghai to develop renewable energy, advanced mineral processing and other industries," Cook said.

Cook started a four-day visit to China on Monday. It was also his first official visit to China, where he had plans to explore investment and trade opportunities and promote ongoing mutually beneficial outcomes between Western Australia and China, according to miragenews.com.

Cook also said that Western Australia's mutually beneficial relationship with China is incredibly important to growth and prosperity for both regions.

Western Australia accounted for 52 percent of Australia's total trade in goods with China in the most recent financial year, with $158.1 billion in goods traded in 2022-23, said miragenews.com.

On Tuesday, Wang Xiaohui, Party secretary of Southwest China's Sichuan Province, met with Cook, saying that Sichuan hopes to achieve fruitful results in trade, investment, clean energy, mineral development, education and tourism.

The visit by Cook came after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's recent visit to China, the first such visit by an Australian leader in seven years, at a time when relations between the two countries are gradually thawing.

At the recent 6th China International Import Expo held in Shanghai, Australia dispatched the largest delegation ever, with more than 250 companies exhibiting at the event.

Albanese attended the expo, and he said that it was "in all our interests" to have a bilateral relationship involving dialogue and cooperation, Reuters reported.

Global Times