On February 1st, 2010, Ambassador Zhang made a trip to Perth where he attended the opening ceremony of Bank of China’s Perth Branch and delivered a speech. Among over 200 Australians and Chinese participants in the event, there were Honorable Colin Barnett, Premier of Western Australia, and Mr Li Lihui, President of the Bank of China.

Ambassador Zhang expressed his warm congratulations to the BOC on the opening of its Perth Branch and its thriving business in Australia. He said that the cooperation between Australia and China in service sectors, especially in the banking sector, has grown rapidly in recent years. So far 8 Chinese banks have established branches or offices in Australia, including the People’s Bank of China or the central bank. From the Australian side, ANZ and the Commonwealth Bank are vigorously engaged in investment cooperation with Chinese partners. ANZ and Westpac have opened branch offices in China, which are expected to start RMB business by mid 2010. All these developments show that our economic relations have grown from mere trade links into a multidimensional and in-depth cooperative relationship.

Ambassador Zhang applauded the excellent performances by BOC and recognized it as the most internationally-oriented commercial bank in China which is nearly a century old. It is one of the first foreign banks to open business in Australia. As one of the earliest overseas investor in Australia, BOC has weathered the change of times and always served as a bridge linking the business communities of our two countries. The Bank of China’s growth in Australia epitomizes the ever closer economic relations between China and Australia. The establishment of the Perth Branch is a new step of BOC’s development in Australia. It also marks a new starting point for services cooperation between China and Australia.

Ambassador Zhang highlighted the good performance and steady developments of the Chinese and Australian Banks despite the global financial crisis. He believes that the relatively healthy systems of our two countries’ banking sectors, derives from not only our regulatory systems, but more importantly, from our strong economic fundamentals and interdependence. To join hands is our secret to overcome this crisis. It remains the sure path to even stronger economic relations between us.

Honorable Colin Barnett, Premier of Western Australia also expressed his congratulations on the opening of BOC Perth Branch. And he wishes further economic and trade cooperation between Western Australia and China in the years ahead. At the ceremony, Mr Li Lihui, the President of Bank of China introduced the developments of BOC to the participants. In his speech, Mr. Li stressed his willingness to make his efforts in pushing forward the economic and trade relations between China and Australia.