Chinese ambassador to Australia Zhang Junsai on Tuesday called for broader and further cooperation between China and Australia in such areas as energy and resources, education and tourism, and in environmental protection, particularly in the time of the global financial crisis and economic downturn.

Making a keynote speech at China-Australia Business Congress 2009 which was held in Sydney, Zhang said the global financial crisis has posed severe challenges to the economy, but it has also brought new opportunities for both countries to explore potential and achieve a win-win outcome.

He told the audiences that industries of the two countries should adopt a long-term perspective, go beyond immediate interests and increase and upgrade mutual investment and cooperation in upstream areas, such as energy and resources.

As for the tourism, Zhang said a large number of Chinese students stretched Australian universities, making these universities short of education facilities and teachers. The number of Chinese tourists traveling to Australia only makes up only 1 percent of the total 40 million outbound tourists in China and therefore, enormous potential remains to be tapped in both education and tourism.

"Competent authorities should explore new ways to intensify our cooperation in the two sectors, such as holding a China-Australian education summit, to bring out cultural exchanges to a new high," he said.

As for the cooperation in new energy and environmental protection, the ambassador said Australia is a leading country in bio-technology, clean coal and energy saving, which are badly needed in China to achieve sustainable development.

"We should enhance cooperation in these areas and make them a new source of growth in China-Australian relations to the benefit of our economies and peoples.

The two-day China-Australia Business Congress was opened on Tuesday and discussions were focused on opportunities for business in the greater China region during a global economic downturn.

(Xinhua News Agency May 19, 2009)