Andrews said although it would be a “quick” visit, it was an “important” one to impress China at a national level.
The four-day trip will see the premier meet with senior officials from the Ministry of Education and Beijing Government to discuss the return of Chinese students to the state.
Andrews will also travel to Jiangsu and Sichuan, meeting with key senior officials to forge strong relationships within the provinces.
“It’s an opportunity to (show) that Melbourne is open, Victoria is open, and that the Chinese economy and the Chinese community is very important to us because they are important to our future,” he said.
“We think this will be very important for Victorian jobs and exports and to make sure we can maintain 42,000 students but grow that in the years to come.”
It marked the first visit by an Australian federal minister to China since 2019.
Andrews last visited China in October 2019, when he signed the state up to the global infrastructure initiative, Belt and Road.
The agreement is a $1.5 trillion initiative which involves the construction of infrastructure, mostly co-funded by China.
Media will not be welcome on the trip, with Andrews saying it wasn’t “picture-friendly”.
However, he made it clear that this trip wasn’t made “to sign deals”.
“We are having a series of meetings back-to-back,” he said.
“This is about making sure we have as many students coming to Melbourne as possible.”
“This is about sending a clear message that we value the partnership.”
Source: 9news.com.au
