Wang Xiaohui, Secretary of the CPC Sichuan Provincial Committee and Chairman of the Standing Committee of Sichuan Provincial People's Congress, and Shi Xiaolin, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Sichuan Provincial Committee and Governor of the People's Government of Sichuan Province, meet with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Chengdu, July 16, 2025.

On July 16, Wang Xiaohui, Secretary of the CPC Sichuan Provincial Committee and Chairman of the Standing Committee of Sichuan Provincial People's Congress, and Shi Xiaolin, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Sichuan Provincial Committee and Governor of the People's Government of Sichuan Province, met with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Chengdu, and they together attended the ceremony announcing the 2026 Australian Open (AO) Asia-Pacific Wildcard Play-off to be held in Chengdu.

Wang Xiaohui, Secretary of the CPC Sichuan Provincial Committee and Chairman of the Standing Committee of Sichuan Provincial People's Congress, shakes hands with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, July 16, 2025.

During the meeting, Wang Xiaohui and Shi Xiaolin, on behalf of the CPC Sichuan Provincial Committee and the People's Government of Sichuan Province, extended their welcome to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his delegation for their visit to Sichuan, and they also provided a brief overview of Sichuan's progress in economic and social development. Wang Xiaohui said that under the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries and with the joint efforts of both sides, China-Australia relations have emerged from their low point and achieved a turnaround in recent years, bringing tangible benefits to the people of both countries. Yesterday morning, President Xi Jinping held a meeting with Prime Minister Albanese, reaching an important consensus on further advancing China-Australia relations, which also charts the course for enhancing mutually beneficial cooperation between Sichuan and Australia. As a province in western China with close exchanges with Australia, Sichuan will fully implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries and take Prime Minister's current visit as an opportunity to continuously elevate the level and depth of cooperation between Sichuan and Australia and its local regions across various fields, contributing to the further advancement of China-Australia relations for sound development. We sincerely welcome more Australian enterprises to invest and establish operations in Sichuan. We remain committed to fostering a business environment that is market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized, and will provide all necessary facilitation and services for the businesses operating in the province. We warmly welcome friends from all sectors across Australia to visit Sichuan—to marvel at its breathtaking landscapes and discover the allure of "Splendid Sichuan", and to immerse themselves in the vibrant local life, savoring the authentic charm of "Land of Abundance".

Anthony Albanese expressed appreciation for Sichuan's achievements in economic and social development. He stated that Australia highly values its relations with China, noting that this visit has yielded a series of significant outcomes that lay a solid foundation for the continued positive development of bilateral relations. As a key province in western China, Sichuan has close exchanges and a profound friendship with Australia. We look forward to enhancing cooperation with Sichuan in such fields as trade and investment, education and technology, cultural tourism, and green development, achieving greater mutual benefits and win-win results for our two peoples.

Anthony Albanese, Wang Xiaohui, Shi Xiaolin and others attend the ceremony announcing the 2026 Australian Open Asia-Pacific Wildcard Play-off to be held in Chengdu.

After the meeting, Anthony Albanese, Wang Xiaohui, and Shi Xiaolin jointly attended the ceremony announcing the 2026 AO Asia-Pacific Wildcard Play-off to be held in Chengdu.

Anthony Albanese delivered remarks and announced Chengdu's selection as host, extending his congratulations on the city securing the 2026 AO Asia-Pacific Wildcard Play-off. He noted that strengthening friendly Australia-China cooperation in people-to-people and cultural exchanges was a key focus of yesterday's meeting with President Xi Jinping. Nothing embodies this mission better than a world-renowned event like the Australian Open. It is truly delightful to witness tennis becoming increasingly popular among the people of Sichuan, where many promising young players have already come to the fore. We look forward to seeing champions from the Chengdu Wildcard Play-off compete at next year's AO. In addition to the AO Asia-Pacific Wildcard Play-off, Australia and Sichuan have established numerous fruitful collaborations to promote tennis development. It is hoped that these collaborative efforts will further strengthen the friendly exchanges between Australia and Sichuan, delivering greater mutual benefits and win-win outcomes.

In his address, Wang Xiaohui stated that President Xi Jinping places high importance on sports development and has clearly required promoting the coordinated development of mass sports, competitive sports, and the sports industry, which provides us with fundamental guidance for doing a good job in sports. Tennis, as an integral part of sports development, has seen numerous elite players emerge from Sichuan who have distinguished themselves at domestic and international competitions. Their achievements have elevated Sichuan's profile in global tennis, highlighting the province's increasing prominence in today's international tennis landscape. Hosting this Wildcard Play-off in Chengdu will enable the AO to better engage with Chinese audiences and showcase its unique appeal, while also promoting "Splendid Sichuan: Land of Abundance" to the world, demonstrating the myriad charms of Chinese modernization. We will spare no effort in successfully hosting the Wildcard Play-off, using the tournament as both a platform and bridge to deepen Sichuan-Australia exchanges and cooperation across all sectors, in a bid to deliver more substantive outcomes.

Vicki Reid, Director of Government, Social Impact and Stakeholder Relations at Tennis Australia, chaired the announcement ceremony. John Fitzgerald, representing former Australian Open champions, introduced the relevant information about the AO and handed over the autographed tennis racket, a souvenir of the ceremony, to Shi Xiaolin.

Also present were provincial leaders Chen Wei and Pubu Dunzhu, Chinese Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian, Australian Ambassador to China Scott Dewar, officials from relevant government departments of Australia and its embassy and consulates-general in China, leading officials from relevant departments and bureaus of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Tennis Sports Management Center at the General Administration of Sports of China, and heads of relevant provincial departments, among others.