China, Australia almost perfect partners: CEO

China and Australia are almost the perfect partners, with the Chinese market to benefit the Australian public especially amid improved bilateral ties, Fortescue Metals CEO Dino Otranto told the Global Times on Wednesday in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2024.

Otranto expressed a positive feeling about visiting Boao in South China’s Hainan Province, noting that his team was able to engage with many participants in the region. The government perspective and the customers’ perspective – particularly in the clean energy sector – have been very encouraging.

He added that the biggest highlight for him being in Boao so far was to see that Chinese and Australian businesses are absolutely steadfast now around their ambitions for the energy transition, and the partnerships are almost superseding some of the political tensions.

When commenting on China’s business environment and efforts in attracting foreign investment, Otranto noted that the company is encouraged by what it is seeing on the ground, not just hearing, as the ecosystem is starting to open up on top of already consolidated strong partnerships.

Responding to the “decoupling” practices targeting China by some Western countries, Otranto said that stability is key for global economic and industrial development, urging everyone to re-focus on stability and not get too caught up in current geopolitical tensions.

He noted that businesses have a leadership role to play, to demonstrate that the unity across the planet’s supply chains now is so critical for everyone’s development. “If you took China, the US or anything out of that sector, both will fail,” Otranto added.

Otranto is among Australian executives who are upbeat about extending cooperation with Chinese partners amid improved bilateral relations, especially following Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s recent visit to New Zealand and Australia.