Mayor: Sustainable, quality growth for all

Updated: 2014-11-18 07:56

By Xinhua (China Daily)

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The mayor of G20 summit host city Brisbane told Xinhua that he was impressed with Chinese President Xi Jinping's positive message on continued economic momentum and China's commitment to working with the rest of the world to ensure sustainable growth and a better quality of life for everyone.

"Xi's speech is very much in line with our own thinking at the government here in Brisbane," said Mayor Graham Quirk. "It's about growing together, cooperating together and making sure our people benefit together.

"Things like that and the free trade agreement are very important," Quirk said.

"It's wonderful to have Xi Jinping here - I had the chance to meet with him briefly and talk about our sister city relationships (with Shenzhen and Chongqing).

"He made the point that more people should come to Brisbane and he was impressed with the city and the way we work."

Quirk has visited China eight times and was made an honorary citizen of Chengdu.

"We (also) host the Asia-Pacific City Summit, so the relationship we have with China is growing," he said.

The Brisbane mayor said China's growth over the past few decades has been extraordinary with many positive changes, not just economically but also environmentally.

"The move toward cleaner industry is very important so China is doing very well in growth of the economy and looking out for the needs of the environment. The greater cooperation we (Australia and China) can have will be a great benefit to both nations," he said.

As the gateway to Queensland's mineral wealth, Brisbane is home to about 170 resource companies and more than 100 mining technology and services firms, a significant proportion of the sector in resource-rich Queensland.

With Chinese investment spanning various sectors of the Queensland economy including oil and gas, coal mining, real estate, agribusiness and transport, Quirk said the free trade agreement will be beneficial to China as well.

"With any agreement it is important that it is win-win so it benefits China and also benefits Australia. The people of Brisbane will certainly benefit from the opening up of this trade relationship," he said.

"The fact that we remove barriers is important. If we are going to talk about outcomes from this summit, the Brisbane Action Plan that would grow GDP by 2 percent more is very important in this relationship."

Commenting on progress at the G20 meeting, Quirk said world leaders highlighted the need for more infrastructure investment and aim to grow the economies of all nations.

"They are important steps for the quality of life for all people. That's what these G20 summits have to be in the end," he said.

"The G20 (summit) is an opportunity for world leaders to talk about areas where they can cooperate to the benefit of all nations and their peoples.

"The Brisbane Action Plan gives an agenda that will go forward and make sure improvements are for everyone."

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