SYDNEY, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Australia's Victorian government will fund research and development partnerships between five local organizations and five Chinese institutions.
Philip Dalidakis, Victoria's Minister for Small Business, Innovation and Trade, announced the recipients of the Victoria-Jiangsu Program for Technology and Innovation Research and Development (VIC-JS TECH) grants during an official visit to Nanjing on Friday.
The two regions signed a Technology and Innovation Agreement in 2015.
Dalidakis was joined on his visit to China by Daniel Andrews, Victoria's premier, who was one of 90 world leaders attending the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing.
"We're committed to building collaborative partnerships between Victoria and Jiangsu Province's high-tech and innovative economies," Dalidakis said in a media release on Friday.
"The Andrews Labor government is supporting Victoria's strong R&D sector so it can connect with the brightest minds in our sister state and create new economic opportunities, businesses and jobs."
The relationship between the two states also took a step up in the sports sector during Dalidakis' visit when Melbourne United of the National Basketball League played an exhibition match against the Chinese Basketball Association's Jiangsu Dragons.
Dalidakis said the two-match series provided a perfect backdrop for Victoria to "share its world-leading expertise in sporting venue design and sports medicine."
He said that Melbourne's status as the sporting capital of the world meant that Victoria was well-placed to provide meaningful contribution to China's sports development.
