6 November 2011

APECF hosts welcome dinner for the 90th China-visit of Mr. Bob Hawke, former Prime Minister of Australia

2012 marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of Sino-Australian diplomatic relations. China and Australia face a new challenge and era of cooperation. On this occasion, the Australia-China Club and APECF co-hosted the welcome dinner to mark the 90th China visit of Mr. Bob Hawke, former Prime Minister of Australia.

In recent years, Mr. Hawke has proposed a strategy of continuing to build mutual trust, deepening levels of communication and solidifying the foundation of cooperation between Australia and China. His visit is another evidence of the 82-year-old Hawke’s unremitting efforts to realize continuous friendly development between China and Australia.

During the welcome dinner, Mr. Hawke delivered a passionate speech and reviewed the glory and challenges in Sino-Australian relationships since he met Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in the 1970s. He especially highlighted how China’s reform and opening up not only brought benefits to Chinese people, but also to the whole world, saying with humor that it was “beneficial to 3 billion people worldwide”, including the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and India.