Deputy Minister Lou Qinjian from the Ministry of Information Industry (MII) will lead a group of eight senior ministry officials, joining a second group of senior executives from Chinese firms in a delegation from the China Electronic Chamber of Commerce (CECC) to the CeBIT Australia conference and exhibition at Darling Harbour in Sydney from May 1-3.
Minister Lou and the MII delegates will conduct high-level meetings with the officials from the Department of Communications, IT and the Arts, and the NSW government.
Both MII delegates and the CECC will also conduct closed-door meetings with members of the Australian Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers’ Association (AEEMA).
But the Chinese arrive in Australia just as Trade Minister Warren Truss said government is considering joining the United States in lodging complaints with the World Trade Organisation over the intellectual property protection issues in China.
Mr Truss told the ABC last week the US was clearly becoming more aggressive in its trading relationship with China and that Australia may join the US in its complaint to the WTO.
The Minister is in Beijing this week and will meet with China’s Commerce Minister Bo Xilai. He will also co-chair the High-level Economic Cooperation Dialogue (HECD) with the chairman of China’s National Development and Reform Commission.
Mr Truss will also attend the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference and participate in a panel on Accelerating Asian Growth: Evolution of the Asian Economic Community.\
Styled as an Asian Davos, the BFA is a forum for senior government, business and academic representatives to debate major economic, social and environmental issues facing Asia.
Intellectual property in China is a hot topic right now, and the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) is organising a series of seminars to be held in Australian capital cities in May.
Austrade has partnered with IP Australia to present the ' View in 2007: Intellectual property and new markets in China' seminars in Canberra, Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth starting on May 7.
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