By Victoria Stone-Meadows
Health, tourism, agriculture, innovation and education will be the focus points of Casey council’s ongoing relationship with Dujiangyan City of inland Sichuan Province of China.
The council passed a recommendation to adopt a China engagement strategy without discussion at their meeting on Tuesday 15 August.
The newly adopted strategy will see Casey Council bolstering relationships with Dujiangyan City in these areas and encouraging investment in the region by their Chinese counterpart.
The strategy was drafted following mayor Sam Aziz and Cr Wayne Smith’s visit to China in April this year to establish an economic partnership with a Chinese sister city.
The most tangible changes brought about by the strategy will be on the innovation stage with Casey Council committing to working hand-in-hand with Chinese tech companies to bring their business to the region.
As part of this strategy, council will create a Casey Cardinia Account on WeChat – the most widely used social media application in China – to engage prospective investment from Dujiangyan City in a familiar environment.
The Casey-Cardinia Business Hub will have a dedicated China Desk to assist local businesses in dealing with language, cultural and business barriers.
Casey Council will also establish a dedicated Chinese language investment portal that will provide information and assistance to help stakeholders secure investments in the region.
Council’s China Engagement Strategy will inform ongoing development at the Berwick Health and Education Precinct that incorporates the new St John of God Hospital, Chisholm TAFE, and Federation University.
The strategy will also encourage representatives from the precinct to be involved in any future trade missions made by council to China and is included in the itinerary for any visiting Chinese delegates.
Federation University will also play a major part in council’s relationship with Dujiangyan City by providing Chinese-focused courses and partnerships.
Included in the strategy is the forming of an official partnership between Federation University and a Chengdu-based university to support language and cultural courses in local schools and community learning facilities.
Casey Council will also audit schools in the Casey-Cardinia region to assess levels of Chinese language teaching as part of the strategy.
The focus around agribusiness in the strategy will see council actively assisting local food exporters to take advantage of export opportunities to their Chinese partner.
The main focus of the China Engagement Strategy in this space will have council assisting Casey-based food businesses to navigate Chinese export rules and regulations.
Casey Council has outlined a whole host of ways to encourage more tourism and sport from China into the Casey Cardinia Region in the strategy.
A Lantern Festival for City of Casey to be held in the first week of October is set to be the centrepiece of council’s tourism focus of the strategy.
Council will look to partner with established tourist attractions such as the Botanic Gardens in Cranbourne, Puffing Billy and the soon-to-be-revamped Gumbuya Park to specifically attract tourism from China.
They will also look into utilising Casey Fields as a resource for Chinese sports teams in their off-seasons and look at sporting exchange programs for athletes between Casey and Dujiangyan City.
Further to their own China Engagement Strategy, Casey Council has also committed to working closely with state and federal governments into the future to establish closer economic ties to China.
