Dr. Stephanie Fahey, Chief Executive Officer of Austrade, which is the Australian Government agency responsible for promoting trade, investment, international education, and tourism policy, programs and research, received an interview recently during her latest visit to Chengdu. She shared her impression of the city and views on the cooperation between Australia and Chengdu. "We attach great importance to our partnership with southwest China, especially, with Chengdu," she said, noting that "I would like to see more cooperation in more areas between the two sides."

What changes impressed you most in Chengdu?

Dr. Fahey: The Last time I came to Chengdu was in 2006. Now 12 years later, I've seen huge changes here. For instance, the urban environment is more beautiful, and the city plays a more important role in China. The city planning, which I heard of during last visit, has become reality.

In what fields have Chengdu and Australia been keeping close ties?

Dr. Fahey: Australian wine, food, fresh products, cosmetics and health care products, etc. are very popular in Chengdu. And our partnership has been expanded to many other areas, including education, scientific research and biomedicine.

What advantages do you think Australia has in the cooperation with Chengdu?

Dr. Fahey: Australia has brought Chengdu professional knowledge of some Nobel laureates, and branches and R&D centers of many Australian high-tech companies, including Cochlear, the world's largest provider of artificial cochleas. The mutual collaboration features both commercialization of cutting-edge technologies and improvement of people's well-being, in particular, in the biomedicine sector. For example, the Australian magnetic resonance imaging technology, through Chengdu Hengkang Medical Group Co., Ltd.'s acquisition of the Australian PRP Diagnostic Imaging Pty Ltd., has been applied in more than 30 hospitals in Chengdu.

Are there any potentials for the Chengdu-Australia partnership in new areas?

Dr. Fahey: Australia has a lot of experience in improving urban livability and providing services for urban operations. As far as I know, Chengdu is building its Tianfu Greenway, which I think is an elaborate and beneficial plan. And the city's subway network and operations are developing rapidly, and urban environment is improving constantly. All these let me sense the opportunities for new cooperation. The Woods Bagot, a global architectural and consulting company in Australia, reached a strategic cooperation agreement with China Southwest Architectural Design and Research Institute Corp. Ltd. in September. And many Australian architectural companies, including LAB and Place Design Group, are working together with their Chengdu partners to create a better living environment for the residents in the city.