CANBERRA -- The Australian capital Canberra will enhance cooperation with Beijing as this year marks the 25th anniversary of the sister-city relationship between the two capitals, a senior official of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) has said.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr expressed a strong willingness to take this opportunity to enhance cooperation with China in areas such as trade, culture, education, and tourism.

Barr made the statement at the opening ceremony of "Chinese Showcase" at the 2025 Australia National Multicultural Festival on Friday.

Chinese Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian said Chinese New Year has been inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, further enhancing its global significance.

The Year of the Snake began on Jan 29, according to the Chinese lunar calendar.

The "Chinese Showcase" is a key part of the Australia National Multicultural Festival and the Chinese community in Australia has played a pioneering role in China-Australia exchanges, Xiao said, adding that he hoped they would continue their efforts to contribute to the sustained development of China-Australia relations.

The Australia National Multicultural Festival is an iconic event in Canberra, bringing together more than 170 multicultural communities this year to share their culture, history and heritage through food, art, song and dance.