Her Excellency Ms Frances Adamson, Australian Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China
Speech to the Australian Studies Centre, People’s University (人民大学)
Beijing, China, Wednesday 16 January 2013
I am delighted to speak today at the Renmin University Australian Studies Centre. I know it was established in 1999 and is one of the most active in China. I am therefore very pleased to be here today to speak to you all and continue a long and productive association.
As you well know, in December last year, we celebrated 40 years since Australia and China established diplomatic relations. I regard such occasions as a chance to reflect on and celebrate the achievements of the last four decades. The Anniversary also provided a great opportunity for us all to be advocates for the relationship and to invest in it for the future. And in this, I very much include you, the students of this Australian Studies Centre, and your colleagues from other Departments.
In my speech today, and in the context of the important anniversary we have just celebrated, I will touch on the state of the bilateral relationship. I would also like to reflect a little on the future. But, most of all, I want to paint for you a picture of what is an increasingly broad and deep relationship between Australia and China.
Seeing so many of you gathered here today simply reinforces my belief that it is the young people of both nations who will contribute to furthering our bilateral ties into the future.
Australia and China are very fortunate. We enjoy a strong bilateral relationship built on trade, investment and inter-governmental links. We also have thriving people-to-people links in culture, education and tourism exchanges. Institutes, such as this one, make a significant contribution to furthering our overall bilateral relationship by helping us learn more about each other.
So where does the relationship stand today? Bilateral trade has grown dramatically of course, and, at over A$120 billion, is more than 1000 times larger now than it was in 1972. Investment also is becoming a more prominent feature of the commercial relationship. Today, China is Australia’s largest trading partner, our largest source of imports, as well as our single biggest export market – accounting for around 24 percent of our total goods and services exports, the highest proportion for Australia since Japan received 24 percent of Australia’s exports in the 1990s. China is also Australia’s largest services export market, with education and travel accounting for 90 per cent of services exports.
So, China matters greatly to Australia. But Australia also matters greatly to China.
Australia, as I’m sure many of you know, is a stable and reliable supplier of the raw materials China needs for its rapid economic development. We are also now China’s eighth-largest merchandise trading partner.
But looking forward, further diversification of trade and investment to areas such as financial services, clean energy and agribusiness will help underpin the next phase of economic cooperation.
And of course, as wealth levels continue to increase in China, so too will the demand for Australian beef, wine, dairy and other foods, particularly high quality, fresh, green, “clean” food.
As trade cooperation grows, Australia is looking to further deepen our links by negotiating with China a bilateral Free Trade Agreement. We would like this to be a comprehensive high-quality instrument covering the full range of our dynamic economic relationship.
I mentioned investment before. Let me make very clear here – Australia welcomes foreign investment, including from China. We have approved more than A$80 billion of Chinese foreign investment proposals over the last four years, many of these from state-owned enterprises. I have visited many of those state-owned enterprises personally and have got to know the CEOs and Presidents of those companies, and come to understand their investments in Australia.
As a practical example, less than a month ago, Australia’s Regional Development Minister, Simon Crean, was here, and meeting with Chinese agricultural firms to talk to them about investment opportunities in Australia. That’s a sensitive area for some parts of the Australian community, but we nevertheless welcome this investment. It is of course important that Chinese investors take into account community sensitivities and community expectations when investing in Australia.
In the other direction, yes, we want fair treatment for Australian business. We would like to see a more open Chinese economy. And Australia also has much hard-won expertise and technology that we would like to share, particularly in high-end niche areas, to benefit and support the growth of the Chinese economy, especially in second and third tier cities.
But while our economic and trade ties are important and beneficial to each of us – there is so much more to this relationship. My role as Ambassador is not just to seek to advance the economic and trade relationship, but to tell the story of the other parts of our relationship, and indeed to further deepen those links.
Those of you that have had an opportunity to read the media recently will know that bilateral security and defence ties are on a very strong footing. But perhaps not many of you are aware of the depth of those ties. Australia is one of only two countries in the world to have an annual defence strategic dialogue with China at the level of the Chief of General Staff (总参谋长).
The Australian navy was the first western navy, in November 2010, to hold live fire exercises with the PLA Navy. We were also the first western country to hold a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief exercise between the Australian Defence Force and the PLA in Chengdu in 2011, and we repeated that exercise in Brisbane, Queensland in November 2012. Recently, three Chinese frigates visited Australia on their return from anti-piracy operations in the Middle East.
On border-control issues, our agencies also work closely to combat transnational crime and keep both of our countries safer. We also have a longstanding connection with China in development assistance. Australia is pleased to have been able to support China’s development – through the provision of over A$ 1.2 billion in aid – over the past three decades. As China’s economy has grown, China now provides its own development assistance to other countries. So now when we talk with your government in Beijing about development assistance it is as an equal partner. In fact, China’s overseas development assistance is actually now greater than Australia’s.
We also cooperate closely on regional and international issues.
We work together in the East Asia Summit, the ASEAN Regional Forum and other regional fora. In the East Asia Summit, we are working together, and with others, to build the region’s ability to respond to natural disasters, to help ensure we can help each other in our times of greatest need.
We are also key partners in the G20. Our close cooperation in response to the financial crisis not only benefited our own economies but also helped our region. Globally, China stands out as an economy continuing to grow. Australia does too. And we continue to pursue the same goal of effectively reforming the international financial system, including by ensuring better representation of developing economies in global financial architecture. Australia will host the G20 in 2014 and we look forward to working with China in that year, when China will be hosting APEC.
China is one of five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. Australia has a long history of support for the UN and peacekeeping missions, often together with China. The Australian Government places great importance on these activities and looks forward to doing more with China during Australia’s term as a non-permanent member of the UNSC in 2013-14.
So I have spoken with you a little about areas of the Australia-China relationship that you are sure to know well and have also touched on some of our areas of cooperation that you may know less about, such as the collaboration between our defence forces. And I hope this helps you to see the true depth and breadth of our relationship.
But in many respects, the most important part of our relationship, and the part that is often under-appreciated, is that of the links between our people, our families and our communities.
We all know there is an excellent story to tell – one that talks of increasing numbers of tourists, from fewer than 500 Chinese tourists to Australia in 1972, to more than half a million last year. And the story is good on the other side too. More and more Australians are visiting China. In 2011, Australians made close to 370 000 trips to China, up almost 10 per cent on the previous year, and China is now Australia’s sixth most popular tourist destination.
Even more striking, perhaps, is the rise in student enrolment figures – almost zero in 1972, 9000 in 1998 and more than 120 000 in 2012. As Chinese students are very diligent, with many students enrolled in more than one degree, this number of enrolments means we had around 100 000 Chinese students studying in Australia in 2012.
But just as important as the numbers, which mean more students in Australia from China than from anywhere else, it is important not to lose sight of the individual stories. The stories of those people in our communities who have benefited from, and given back to, our community as a result of their experiences.
Cardiac surgeon Victor Chang (张任谦) was just such an individual. Born in Shanghai but trained at the University of Sydney in Australia, Dr Chang saved thousands of lives through the development of the heart transplant valve and, even after his tragic death in 1991, he continues to be revered in both our countries as a leader in his field. I cannot predict your futures, but I am sure you will make a big contribution to development in Australia or China or even in both.
Other Australians of Chinese heritage, like our current Finance Minister, Penny Wong, or the 2012 Young Australian of the Year, Marita Cheng, who recently visited China, similarly reflect the significant contribution made to Australian society.
I think we here today all understand the benefit of education exchanges and research collaboration between our countries. The Australian Studies Centre network in China actually started with exchanges of distinguished Chinese academics to Australia in the late 1970s to learn more about Australia’s culture, literature and society. On their return to China they wanted to continue their studies and this led to the first six Australian Studies Centres in China being established.
Since then, all Australian universities have developed partnerships with Chinese universities across many areas of scholarship allowing for exchanges of staff and students. I believe that bringing young people together, through exchange, is the most rewarding way to build our long-term relationship. And, while there are far more Chinese students in Australia than Australian students in China at present, the latter number is increasing and I am personally committed to helping it to grow.
Another crucial part of our people to people links are our bilateral cultural links and we work with the Australian Studies Centre network, cultural institutions, arts organisations and individuals to help build Australia’s cultural footprint in China.
We also make use of online channels to engage with the 老百姓. In fact, some of you might already be fans of our Imagine Australia Sina Weibo新浪微博(www.weibo.com/imagineaustralia) and I warmly encourage you all to sign up to follow our news!
Recently, we concluded a successful two-year bilateral cultural program – “Imagine Australia” and “Experience China”. With over 300 events over two years, these programs reached into every corner of our two nations, from Sydney to Perth in Australia, and from Beijing to Urumqi in China.
So, we can see that bilateral links are strong and thriving. Yet, as I questioned at the beginning of my speech, what does the future hold?
Our Governments have a responsibility to look forward and to unlock the potential in our relationship. It was with this in mind that Prime Minister Gillard, in October last year, launched a White Paper on “Australia in the Asian Century”. In that White Paper, we reaffirmed Australia’s support for China’s participation in the region’s strategic, economic and political development.
The White Paper also welcomed China’s rise, not just because of the economic and social benefits it has brought to China’s people and the region, but also because it strengthens the entire international system.
And that is the sort of thinking underpins our approach to our relationship with China.
So with that aim, I say to you that the future starts here, with you. Closer engagement between young people from both our nations is what will drive the relationship forward, with more meaningful exchanges, broader understanding and stronger partnerships.
Following 40 years of diplomatic relations between our countries, we have a solid foundation from which to take the bilateral relationship forward. This is much broader than trade and investment, and it is sustained and enriched through the strong people-to-people ties.
It is truly a great pleasure to see so many young Chinese people here today, studying and engaging with Australia. You are the future of the relationship – and I am firmly convinced that it is in very good hands. – Thank you.