Past forums

The forum, supported by the City of Sydney, China Construction Bank, PwC, Reginsun Group and the University of Sydney’s Confucius Institute, provided valuable insights into China’s digital transformation, the impact of the Internet on its productivity and economic growth as well as China’s digital future. It also updated the attendees on the development of Smart Cities, how robotics is impacting on the ‘Made in China 2025’ program and the future and risks of doing business with China in the area of artificial intelligence.

China is Australia’s largest trading partner and is experiencing a dramatic transformation of its economy through digitisation. Its internet economy now exceeds those of the US, France and Germany as a share of GDP, and in 2017 more than half of China’s advertising spend will be online.

Themed ‘Capitalising on China’s digital revolution’, the forum gave participants a unique opportunity to meet representatives of major Chinese companies including UBTech, China’s largest consumer humanoid robotics company; ZTE Corporation, the leading smart city brand in China; XAIRCRAFT, one of the world’s largest drone companies; and InnoQuantum Capital Management, a leading fintech company.

Other speakers included City of Sydney Councillor Robert Kok, NSW Minister for Finance, Services and Property, the Hon. Victor Dominello, and experts from the University of Sydney.

The theme of the 2016 forum was ‘Innovation, disruption and rebalancing China’s economy’. The event brought together more than 300 high-profile entrepreneurs, academics and government representatives from China and Australia. The forum, networking drinks and gala dinner provided a great opportunity for the participants to discuss issues at the heart of China’s transforming economy, as well as opportunities presented to Australian companies by innovation and business disruptors in China.

The theme of the 2015 forum was ‘China's health revolution and opportunities across industries’. The forum focused on issues that are crucial to the development of cooperation between Australia and China in the healthcare sector, such as current trends in China’s health industry, recent and expected regulatory reform; demand for hospital/medical central information systems and opportunities for Australian business; and the significance of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement. 

The 2015 forum was attended by 260 delegates.

"Congratulations on organising such a successful event."
Abraham Chan, Chairman of PuraPharm Corporation Limited

"Thank you on behalf of the NAB team, it was an excellent collaboration with University of Sydney in rolling out the healthcare report at the forum. The feedback has been very positive and the forum was an outstanding platform to connect with the right people in the business. We greatly appreciate the effort that went into the report and would be pleased to continue our partnership of thought leadership in the future."
Michael Ball, NAB Global Head of Healthcare (Institutional Banking)

"What an amazing conference you organised!! It was a sensational day. Countless people commented about how valuable they found the day to be. The logistics worked beautifully and the organisation was flawless."
Kevin Hobgood-Brown, Managing Director, HHK Advisory

"Great job to all involved to organise this event. Congratulations."
Shirley Gao, Foundation for Australian Studies in China

On 17 November, the same day Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed the framework for the historic free trade agreement in Canberra, more than 200 government and business leaders gathered in Sydney to strengthen partnerships in the financial services sector between the two countries.

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore opened the forum, which focused on issues crucial to the development of the financial services sector for Australia and China, by welcoming Chinese investment to Sydney.