New Australian consulate general planned to facilitate appliers in Northeast China

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced an agreement on Friday to set up a new consulate general next year in Shenyang, capital of Liaoning province, which is expected to facilitate visa appliers from Northeast China.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (L) and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull during the Fifth Annual Meeting between Chinese and Australian Prime Ministers in Canberra, Australia March 24, 2016.   [Photo/Xinhua]

Turnbull made the announcement after attending the Fifth Annual Meeting between Chinese and Australian Prime Ministers with Premier Li Keqiang in Canberra. Li is on a four-day trip to Australia before heading for New Zealand.

Shenyang will become the host to the fifth Australian consulate in China, following Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chongqing and Hong Kong. It will facilitate visa applications for three provinces in Northeast China, where people now are required to go to Australian embassy in Beijing for visa applications.

By the end of 2015, more than 260,000 Chinese students were studying in Australia, the largest group of overseas students in the Oceanian country.

According to statistics by Australian agencies, about 1.06 million Chinese tourists traveled to Australia in the fiscal year of 2015-16, the second largest tourist group who brought the highest revenue from tourism for Australia.

In 2016, about 2 million trips were made between the two countries.