The central government has joined with the University of Western Australia to establish Australia's first Confucius Institute in Perth.
The institute is part of a 100-strong global network of centres promoting Chinese language and culture.
It has been established within the university's Institute for International Development. Under a three-year agreement, the mainland and UWA are each contributing half the funding and will appoint half the board members.
Director of the institute, Professor Paige Porter, said Western Australia was a natural location for the venture. 'There's a big focus on China in Western Australia in general, it's a direct result of economic relations,' Professor Porter said.
She pointed to a long history of trade and contact between the mainland and WA, ranging from iron ore exports in the 1980s to the record A$25 billion ($150 billion) natural gas deal that was negotiated three years ago.
Under a A$25 million, 10-year training agreement that is part of the deal, UWA and Curtin University of Technology are training a group of managers for a new gas industry in Guangzhou.