On the anniversary of then-opposition head Gough Whitlam’s legendary journey in November 1971, Prime Minister Albanese will arrive in Beijing currently( November 4 ). Australia and the People’s Republic of China established diplomatic ties with one another when Whitlam was elected prime minister a little more than one month later.
The foundation of diplomatic ties has always been” shared respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, common non-aggression, no interfering in each other’s domestic affairs, equality and shared benefit, and quiet coexistence.”
These six tenets serve as the cornerstones of the post global order and ought to proceed to direct what has developed into a very important relationship between the two nations in the years that have passed.
China is by far the largest trading partner and buying country in the world, as well as Australia. American exports of goods and services to China this year exceeded$ 200 billion( US$ 130.2 billion ).
Despite being merely 20th in the world in terms of export, Australia will be China’s third-largest importer in 2023 and will provide China and the rest of Northeast Asia with crucial raw materials and energy.
Their financial engagement is driven by the underlying complementarity of the relationship between the two nations. For some American goods, China is the largest individual business.
And for China, Australia is the only nation with the size, balance, and closeness to consistently meet its needs for essential raw materials. Without doing business with the other, neither nation was uphold its standard of living or guarantee the conservation of its progress.
Due to its composition, significance to the Chinese steel economy, and influence on energy use, the economic relationship between Australia and China places a particular emphasis on urgency for both nations to address the pressing issue of carbon emissions and their effects on climate change.
Both nations will need to maintain a significant change in their trade and investment relationships in order to achieve the energy transition more quickly and affordably as they work to meet their decarbonization goals and collaborate with other nations to develop green futures. To help blaze the way ahead, this necessitates fostering speech through company, non-official, and government channels.
The two countries have their disagreements and will continue to disagree in the future due to their disparate democratic systems, traditions, and histories, but the six guiding principles upon which the marriage was based also offer the framework to ensure long-term economic and political assistance. The new diplomatic ruptures and trade blockages have been resolved thanks to Australia’s appeal to these principles and the international trading regulations.
The relationship’s scope and character are significant in international and regional financial affairs in addition to being directly relevant to each nation. Australia and China both have a duty to manage their relation in accordance with the international rules-based contracts they have both ratified. The success of the diplomatic monetary relationship depends on that global framework and shared commitment to it.
Unless Australia adopts a global corporate journey with these goals and rules as its top priority in its dealings with China and generally, there won’t be any restoration of the relationship between Australia and China.
When Albanese positioned Australia as a” productive middle power with global passions” in his final talk in Washington before departing for Beijing, he started to explain that plan. & nbsp,
Only two days after his own trip to Beijing, he made the important observation that it is” the responsibility of every country that has benefited from the stability and prosperity of the global rules-based get… to work up and defend it.” This was a significant preface to the anticipated conference meeting between President Joe Biden and Xi for APEC in San Francisco.
Australia, along with China, commits to the values of non-discrimination and equality, as well as the WTO’s guiding principles of mutual benefit and respect for one another not interfering in each of the other countries’ internal affairs. Australia was a prominent and active supporter of China joining the World Trade Organization( WTO ).
The Asia Pacific region’s prosperity and security depend on the international trading system, which also serves as the cornerstone for the two nations’ long-standing participation in APEC, the G20, and the East Asia Summit as well as larger ASEAN-centered agreements like the Regional Economic Cooperation Partnership deal.
China is also interested in joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership ( CPTPP ), which calls for deeper economic reforms and higher standard trade rules.
That didn’t be simple, and it will take a while, but now is the time for Australia to support China’s decision to change its course and work on initiatives that will make clear the incremental improvement required to achieve it. The difficulties of joining CPTPP are many of the same difficulties that must be overcome in order to reform the world trading system and the Chinese market.
Australia and China also have similar interests in the economical growth and financial security of the area.
This entails actively participating in local organizations like the Asian Development Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, both of which Australia is a crucial and valuable participant, as well as ensuring the sufficiency and continued representation of our region by international organizations such as the IMF and World Bank.
People-to-people interactions and enduring friends over the years have helped to strengthen the Australia-China marriage. These discussions are crucial to its potential.
The success of the Albanese-Xi sessions in restraining guidelines and regulations in both countries that unduly restrict openness and trust in the transfer of people and ideas needed to manage the relationship going forth depends on acknowledging and celebrating them.
The relationship between education and commerce is strong, which supports these shared interests. The worth that both nations have gained from cooperating on a variety of issues that are crucial to the health of the bilateral relationship over time is dependent on the advertising of company, academic, official, administrative, and private exchanges.
The East Asian Bureau of Economic Research at the Australian National University is led by Shiro Armstrong and headed by Peter Drysdale.
The Australian Financial Review published a version of this article for the first time around.