China Business Forum

In collaboration with the Small Business Development Corporation and the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation, the Perth USAsia Centre welcomes you to the inaugural China Business Forum. The Forum brings together Western Australian startups, small and medium enterprises, policymakers and industry bodies to discuss opportunities and strategies for developing trade and investment relationships in China.

Western Australia has a longstanding economic relationship with China. Built upon foundations pioneered by the resource sector, economic ties have expanded to include the agro-food, tourism, education and service industries. China now accounts for almost half of the state’s merchandise exports, and is a fast-emerging investment partner. However, the WA-China economic relationship is today entering a period of transition. As the ‘resource boom’ of the early 21st century levels off, the state’s trade profile is beginning to diversify into a range of new service- and knowledge-based sectors. As China’s economy matures and shifts towards a consumption-led pattern of growth, it will increasingly demand services across the agro-food, tourism, education, healthcare and digital domains. New market access opportunities afforded by the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, as well as new industry strategies launched by the Government of Western Australia, promise to broaden and deepen the state’s economic ties with China.

Small- and medium-enterprises (SMEs) will be essential to this transformation. They play a key role in many of WA’s leading service sectors, and are incubators of innovation in the technology and digital domains. There is significant complementarity between the state’s SMEs and the new commercial opportunities available in China. But to fully capitalise on these opportunities, WA businesses need to have an up-to-date understanding of the contemporary business environment in China and develop China strategies that match local capacities to changing patterns of consumer demand.

The inaugural China Business Forum will foster dialogue to help WA businesses understand the transforming WA-China economic relationship. Featuring China experts, business leaders and key policymakers, it offers insights on how SMEs can develop trade and investment partnerships in China.