Ambassador hails deeper China ties

Further cooperation anticipated as countries look to build on existing links

On May 28, Austria and China will celebrate 45 years of fruitful diplomatic relations.

Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz has conveyed his best wishes to both Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and the Chinese people as this auspicious date approaches, and as Austria's ambassador to China, I would like to join him in expressing my warmest regards.

I feel privileged to serve in Beijing as China continues to open up and introduce more international initiatives, guided by President Xi Jinping's vision of the "Chinese Dream".

During the state visit of Austrian President Heinz Fischer to Beijing in March 2015, he and Xi conferred about the revival of the Silk Road - the Belt and Road Initiative - and Fischer confirmed Austria's great interest in forging a deeper partnership with China. Austria has since joined the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as a founding member and our trade organization Advantage Austria cooperates with other interested chambers of commerce on a Silk Road Platform.

Austria's longstanding relations with and involvement in countries in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe, as well as those in Central Asia, give Austrian companies and institutions solid foundations for third-country cooperation with China.

The Bank of China opened its first Austrian branch in our capital, Vienna, on March 8, and this highlighted the relevance of Austria and its capital as a market place and financial center.

China's 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) offers many opportunities for further deepening the existing bilateral trade and investment ties between our countries.

According to a recent poll by the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, Austrian companies are confident that China's "Made in China 2025" initiative will likely lead to higher value inputs from Austrian companies to industrial processes, thus opening up opportunities for extended cooperation.

In the context of China's increasing level of private consumption, Austrian companies' presence in the highend consumer goods and lifestyle sectors in China is set to increase with products ranging from specialty food items such as cheese and chocolates to winter sports equipment.

Major focuses

Environmental issues and the move to greater resource and energy efficiency, which are major focus areas of the 13th Five-Year Plan, could also yield many opportunities for cooperation. It is timely, therefore, that the embassy's team has been strengthened by the addition of an attach�� for agriculture and environment issues.

There are also an increasing number of city-to-city cooperation initiatives around the smart city concept, including cultural projects and major events, as well as tourism know-how and training. Chengdu and Vienna are both developing major new urban developments: the Tianfu New Area in Chengdu and the Aspern Seestadt Initiative in Vienna. Rapid progress is being made on these new developments.

Austria and China are also working together in the winter sports sector. As China prepares to host the 2022 Winter Olympics there is also a drive to broaden the appeal of winter sports to the wider Chinese public.

Broad-based winter sports have a tradition of more than 100 years in Austria. Austria has successfully hosted the Olympic Winter Games twice, the Youth Olympic Winter Games once, and is an annual host of major world-cup races and world championship events in winter sports.

Austrian companies, many of them world leaders in their fields, have successfully showcased their goods and services for years at the annual ISPO Beijing winter sports fair and are forging collaborations in their various fields of expertise with Chinese partners.

Universities in China and Austria are cooperating more on winter sports and the Olympic committees of both countries are in regular communication.

Building on longstanding agreements and excellent relations within the Eurasia Pacific Uninet framework, there has been increasing cooperation in science and technology over the past few years, with many joint projects carried out by Austrian and Chinese advanced research institutions.

Our universities are also in regular, close contact. At Shanghai's Fudan University, the Austrian Center recently celebrated its 10th anniversary and Technical University of Graz recently opened a liaison office at Shanghai's Tongji University. Several double-degree programs are in place and alumni networks are active.

Legal cooperation between our countries will benefit from the impending conclusion of a bilateral treaty on legal assistance, which will hopefully assist in solving a number of serious fraud cases that have been detrimental to both countries.

Cultural superpower

Austria has an excellent reputation in China as a cultural superpower, and deservedly so. Many Austrian orchestras perform regularly in China, artworks, from both the past and present are showcased in China and Austrian artists hold many successful exhibitions. Works by Chinese artists whose theme is the denunciation of violence against women is currently on display in the Austrian residence.

Later this year the Wiener Sangerknaben (Vienna Boys' Choir) will once again tour China. Viennese balls - which in the past have been successfully held in Beijing and Shanghai - combine the pleasures of good music with elegant entertainment and delicious cuisine.

As one of the events to commemorate the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations, a dialogue was held between Austrian and Chinese scholars on the Tao Te Ching's messages regarding state craft in Vienna in mid-May.

Tourism is booming: More and more Chinese tourists - more than half a million annual - are discovering Austria and they are deciding to spend more time in the country - joining outdoor and sports activities, as well as visiting the traditional cultural must-sees in Vienna, Salzburg or Innsbruck.

Austrian Airlines, with its cooperation partner Air China, currently operates direct flights between Vienna and Beijing, Shanghai and - as of September 2016 - also Hong Kong, making travel more convenient. Visa application procedures have become more customer-friendly since the Chinese government has authorized Austria to operate visa application centers in 15 locations in China earlier this year.

Bilateral visits

Bilateral visits and people-to-people exchanges are intensifying, thanks to the bilateral Young Leaders Program and global Austrian Leadership Program, initiated in 2015 and 2016, respectively.

Numerous partnerships between Chinese and Austrian entities on various levels, from the regional to city level, together with friendship associations, also demonstrate the strong people-to-people contact between our two countries. A new Austrian current affairs television program is broadcast live from Beijing several times a year and will contribute to increasing mutual knowledge.

Austria's relations with China are solidly embedded within the EUChina strategic partnership. Austria actively contributes to the shaping of this partnership, in particular in the areas of the China-Europe Water Platform, where Austria, together with the International Center for Small Hydro Power, leads on small hydro power; or on issues of the rights of women, children and persons with disabilities.

As an observer within the "16+1" process, Austria welcomes the positive engagement from the EU to enhance connectivity between China's Belt and Road Initiative and existing EU infrastructure development programs. The EU-China Summit, which will be held in July will undoubtedly further enhance the quality and intensity of the strategic partnership to which Austria continues to be fully committed.

Let me conclude by expressing my deep personal gratitude to the many Chinese counterparts, officials and businesspeople, artists and journalists, and the many Chinese citizens whom I have been privileged to meet during more than four years of service in Beijing.

My husband Reinhard and I have often been deeply impressed by their commitment, professionalism and dedication, and the love they profess for their great country. Let me also pay tribute to and thank every member of the team at the Austrian embassy in Beijing for their superb service. I am both humbled and proud to have the opportunity to make my own small contribution to the further unfolding of bilateral relations between Austria and China for the shared benefit of our peoples. The writer is the Austrian ambassador to China.

(China Daily 05/27/2016 page18)