Australia's Victoria and China's Jiangsu Province will participate in an artist-in-residency program to mark the 40th anniversary of their "sister-state" relationship, the Premier of Victoria Daniels Andrews announced on Sunday.
As part of the initiative, a chosen artist from each region will be hosted by their sister-state and tasked with creating an artwork that will be gifted as a show of friendship.
In China to attend the second Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, Andrews also made a visit to Nanjing wher he met with Jiangsu Governor Wu Zhenglong at a ceremony to celebrate the milestone.
Established in 1979, since then the partnership has helped boost cooperation in a number of sectors including technology, innovation, science, creative arts and education.
"We're proud of our sister-state relationship with Jiangsu Province, which is about jobs, trade and strengthening our cultural ties," Andrews said.
"Over the past forty years, this international partnership has been the cornerstone of Victoria's engagement with China -- and we look forward to it strengthening even more over the next forty years."
With engagement at an all-time high, almost 52,000 tourists from Jiangsu visited Victoria in 2018, an increase of over 40 percent in the last five years.
According to Andrews, 138 Victorian students have also taken part in intensive language study in Jiangsu Province thanks to the Victorian Government's Hamer Scholarships Program which is focused on boosting cultural ties and knowledge.
In other fields, the Victoria-Jiangsu Health Collaboration Agreement has seen more than 900 medical professionals continuing to participate in reciprocal visits for training and clinical exchanges, with a further 50 workers involved in workforce training and development.
"Victoria is the gateway for Chinese investment and trade in Australia and we are proud of the strong and lasting relationship we have built with our largest trading partner," Andrews said.
