Premier Li Keqiang sent congratulations to the opening ceremony of the China-Australia Tourism Year, which was held on Sunday in Sydney.

The premier affirmed that cultural exchanges are one of the most significant pillars for a bilateral relationship and he hopes both countries can expand cultural and people-to-people exchanges through such events as the China-Australia Tourism Year.

Li also said China and Australia are popular tourism destinations, with more than 2 million trips made between the two countries last year.

Both countries, the premier said, respect the diversity of global civilization and China is willing to promote cooperation with Australia based on mutual respect and openness, and bring more benefits to both peoples as well as global peace and stability based on their friendship over the past 45 years.

In his congratulatory letter, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the past 20 years has seen major achievements in tourism cooperation due to the efforts of both countries. China has become the most significant tourism market for Australia, and the number of tourists visiting the Oceanic country reached 1.2 million in the last year, he said.

Turnbull said the China-Australia Tourism Year marks the beginning of a new era for bilateral relationships and both countries will share opportunities for development in the future.

More than 2,000 people, including officials, leading tourism figures and local residents, attended the ceremony.

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