President Xi Jinping waves to the crew of Chinese icebreaker Xuelong during his visit to Hobart, Australia, on Tuesday. Xi stopped in the Australian state of Tasmania after attending the G20 Summit in Brisbane over the weekend.

Memorandum with Australia will expand cooperation at South Pole

China and Australia vowed to deepen cooperation in Antarctica with a memorandum of understanding signed on Tuesday.

The memorandum was signed in the presence of President Xi Jinping and Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbott in Hobart, Australia, when Xuelong, China's only icebreaker, was berthed at the port city to take on supplies on its 31st mission to Antarctica.

Under the memorandum, a joint committee that will meet every two years will be established to oversee the cooperation, and a mechanism for environmental, policy, scientific and operational collaboration in Antarctica will be built, according to the Australian Antarctic Division.

A platform for Antarctic official and academic exchanges will be established, according to the memorandum, under which Australia would be a gateway to Antarctica.

Xi said China would like to continue to cooperate with Australia and other nations to further know, protect and explore Antarctica.

He added that scientific research in the Antarctic region is important work that will benefit mankind, and China has contributed to peaceful use of the continent.

The Australian Antarctic Division said on its website on Tuesday that it looks forward to working with China in expanding the collaboration in Antarctic and Southern Ocean affairs.

Xi and Abbott visited an exhibition on Antarctic scientific research in Australia and talked to expeditioners in Australia's Davis station and China's Zhongshan station via video link.

Later, Xi went aboard Xuelong, visiting a photo exhibition recording China's Antarctic expeditions in the past 30 years.