SYDNEY, April 8 (Xinhua) -- With Chinese visitor spending up significantly in 2018, Australia's Queensland State Minister for Innovation and Tourism Kate Jones said "We absolutely know that the future of our economy is 100 percent linked to China."

The Aussie state saw a record overall spend from tourists last year, who injected in 5.9 billion Australian (4.9 billion U.S.) dollars into the local economy, according to the latest figures from the 2018 International Visitor Survey.

The main reason for the dramatic increase was a 25.4 percent rise in Chinese visitor numbers from 2017, with the total spend from Chinese tourists last year standing at 1.4 billion Australian (1 billion U.S.) dollars.

"We're absolutely focused as a state government to build our relationship and collaboration with China," Jones told Xinhua recently

"That's why we've worked really closely with Chinese airlines and the Chinese Government to create those links."

"We've got links with universities, links with research (institutes), particularly in robotics and also as a Tourism Minister, we are welcoming more Chinese visitors to Queensland than ever before."

On top of the thriving tourism sector, exports to China in areas such as agriculture, resources and business were valued at 22.4 billion Australian (15.9 billion U.S.) dollars during the financial year to 2018.

Overall, this represents 30.3 percent of Queensland's total merchandise exports and 21.3 percent of Australia's total merchandise exports to China.

"Our future is very much linked and there is huge prosperity for both countries if we work together," Jones added.