When China is mentioned as a trading partner, we tend to think first of the major cities and provinces on its east coast. Yet a large percentage of Australia’s trade is conducted in central and western China and, as highlighted by the delegation that was just led by the Prime Minister, one city that is of great importance to us is Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province.
The group visited Australian businesses who have achieved success in the city, including the factory of hearing aid company Cochlear, where the PM told medical industry players that Chengdu was home to examples of “world leading” Australian-Chinese cooperation in science, technology, research and education.
Colless Young has built up strong, enduring partnerships in all major Chinese trading centres and ports over four decades – including central and western China – and you can rely on our experience at both wholesale and retail levels of shipping.
Containers from Chengdu are commonly transported by rail or road to a major Chinese port like Shanghai, Ningbo, or Shenzhen, then loaded onto a vessel bound for east coast Australia. We have a service via the port of Shekou in Guandong province, from where vessels depart at least twice a week, with a transit time of about two weeks.
Air freight is despatched from Chengdu Tianfu International Airport (TFU). Flights that have connections to Australia depart multiple times a day and there are also some direct services on this route, including Sichuan Airlines with flights to Sydney and Melbourne.
A 14-person business delegation accompanied the PM Albanese for the recent meetings, which included leaders from the banking, resources, education and food industries. The inclusion of Chengdu as one of the three destinations on this trip was significant, reflecting a new, deeper and more pragmatic cooperation between the two countries.
Whilst Chengdu may be best known for pandas, its innovation in technology, services, and entertainment industries, offers new opportunities for collaboration. This was the city where the delegation was to be shown “the latest results of state-planned industrial policy that could be pro-actively applied to support cooperation between Australian and Chinese companies,” according to the Chinese media.
While in China Mr Albanese also witnessed the signing of an MOU regarding the Implementation and Review of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement in 2025-2026.
China is Australia’s largest export market, taking in more than a quarter of the nation’s outbound goods. It provides a vast and stable consumption market for Australian minerals, wine, beef, lobster and other products, while Chinese products such as electric vehicles and home appliances have a significant market over here.
When doing import or export business with provinces in Central or Western China, you can rely on our experience and expertise here at Colless Young. For more information, including freight rates, call us today – talk to Andrew, Tel: +61 7 3890 0800 email enq@collessyoung.com.au .
