BRISBANE - Brisbane is the capital of Queensland with a 135 -billion-Australian dollar (117 billion US dollar) economy and a population of 2.1 million people, of which a quarter were born overseas.

There are many Chinese people living in the city and Mandarin is the second most common language spoken in Brisbane households.

Brisbane has been developing close links with China and has formal sister city relationships with Chongqing and Shenzhen which encourage economic development between the cities and create investment and job opportunities from China into Brisbane.

In September 2014, Brisbane Airport (BNE) became the first Australian airport to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Shanghai Airports Authority (SAA) in a partnership aiming to strengthen key relationships and boost aviation links between Australia and China.

Also in September 2014, Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk took more than 40 delegates on a successful business mission to Shanghai. In September 2013, Quirk led a business delegation to the Asia Pacific Cities Summit in China's Taiwan and then onto the Chinese mainland.

In September 2012, the mayor of Shenzhen visited Brisbane with a delegation including business people, research institutes and education providers.

The Choose Brisbane marketing campaign was launched in China's Hong Kong and on the Chinese mainland in March 2013 and aims to expand existing and create fresh opportunities.

More than 3,000 outdoor billboards have appeared in Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and Singapore. The third phase of the campaign began in July 2014 across Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland, Singapore, Britain, Berlin, Spain, Brazil, India, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, South Korea, the United States and Canada.

China remains Queensland's largest trading and investment partner with considerable economic activity occurring particularly in mining, agribusiness and property.

Queensland's merchandise exports to China grew by 25.8 percent from 9.218 billion Australian dollars (8 billion US dollars) in 2012-13 to 11.599 billion Australian dollars (10 billion US dollars) in 2013-14 with coal, metal products and ores accounting for the majority of trade.

In 2012-13, China was Queensland's top source of proposed foreign investment, valued at 3.4 billion Australian dollars (3 billion US dollars).

Chinese investments span various sectors of the Queensland economy including oil and gas, coal mining, real estate, agribusiness and transport.

The gateway to Queensland's mineral wealth, Brisbane is home to about 170 resource companies and more than 100 mining technology and services firms, representing a significant proportion of the sector in resource-rich Queensland.

Brisbane is internationally recognized as a center of excellence in the field of mining equipment, technology and services (METS) and has Australia's highest concentration of METS companies compared to other major cities.

Brisbane has been pivotal in capitalizing on China's growing demand for mineral, petroleum and gas resources from Queensland through the city's advanced port, road and rail infrastructure.