Joining Prime Minister Tony Abbott and political and business leaders, Ms Gallagher will arrive in Shanghai on Tuesday.

Mr Abbott has described the 600-strong party as Australia's largest trade mission overseas. Mr Abbott departed Australia on Saturday for a week-long trip that will also take in Japan and Korea.

Ms Gallagher said she would use the trip to promote the capital's university sector and seek to raise awareness of big infrastructure projects requiring private investment.

''I think each of us will have different interests and strengths,'' she said. ''The ACT's strength is in potential investment, education and tourism. It's not an opportunity necessarily that we would have on our own.''

Australian National University vice-chancellor Professor Ian Young and his University of Canberra counterpart Professor Stephen Parker will also take part.

China remains Australia's largest trading partner; data from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade shows 31.6 per cent of all Australian exports go to China's 1.3 billion consumers. Australia is China's 11th largest export relationship.

Ms Gallagher will use light rail and urban planning as the basis of a presentation to the China investment and tourism round table.

''City to the Lake is probably the largest waterfront opportunity available in a city in Australia, showing them in a very physical way some of the opportunities that are going to exist over the next 10 years.

''I think it will get quite a lot of interest because it is such a large project, and such great opportunity on the waterfront and in the heart of a city that you just don't get anywhere else.''

The public-private partnership has already had interest from investors overseas.

''These delegations are a fact of life for executive governments,'' Ms Gallagher said.

''The thing with trade delegations is you have to pick the right ones and work really hard.''