China and Australia on Tuesday evening held a reception to mark
the 25th anniversary of development cooperation between the two
countries.
"The aid program to China provided by Australia commenced 25
years ago. So far we have a total of 139 development cooperation
projects involving 600 million Australian dollars," Yu Jianhua,
head of the International Department of China's Ministry of
Commerce, said at the reception.
The reception was co-hosted by the Ministry of Commerce and the
Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID).
Yu said the projects covered a wide range of areas including
agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, education, and health
care, among others.
"The anniversary represents a sea change in our relationship,"
said Annmaree O'Keeffe, AusAID's deputy director general.
"In future our partnership will be focused on supporting equity
in China's development and addressing the factors that underpin
poverty and less on direct poverty alleviation," O'Keeffe said.
She said the partnership will focus on higher-level engagement
centered on policy, planning and management, particularly at the
national level.
More than 100 officials and experts from the two countries
attended the reception.
This year marks the 35th anniversary of the establishment of
China-Australia diplomatic ties.
(Xinhua News Agency March 28, 2007)
