Australia is not part of the divisive trillion-dollar One Belt One Road investment initiative, but analysts have since told the ABC individual investment projects in Australia are still allowed to sign up and be part of it regardless.
"The Australian Government may not want to not sign up to the initiative as a program but there's nothing to stop particular projects in Australia signing up on their own account," China expert John Fitzgerald from Swinburne University said.
The proposed Australian Legend World at Nerang, to be developed by Chinese theme park giant Songcheng at a cost of more than $400 million, will be the company's first overseas theme park.
In a notice posted on the ministry's website late last week, the planned theme park was listed at number 11 among 40 other government projects around the world, affiliated with One Belt One Road, assessed as top priorities for the ministry.
"Local culture bureaus are required to conduct guidance and supervise the implementation of the projects on the list," it said.
"[They will also] follow up the development and accelerate toward the development of the cultural trades in the One Belt One Road Initiative."
Australian Legend World — which, until the statement, had only been billed as an "entertainment park" — is set to host a variety of Australian and Chinese cultural and historical performances.
It is unclear what relation the park will play in being "key" to the Chinese initiative's global trade routes or investment ambitions — neither the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade nor the Chinese Ministry of Culture were available for comment at the time of writing.
Roland Evans, managing director of the Canford Property Group and Songcheng's spokesman in Australia, said the listing did not mean China's Ministry of Culture would be able to influence how the project operated.
"I don't believe it does, but [the ministry] will keep obviously a close eye that it mirrors what the constraints of the One Road One Belt system is."
He said both Chinese and Australian consultants had thus far been engaged in the creation of the shows that would be performed at the theme park.
