Winton Dong

    dht620@sina.com

    TWO big Australian events were held in Shenzhen on April 11, 2016. One was a culinary show initiated by Pardoo Beef Corp. from West Australia and the other was a science and technology exchange seminar co-sponsored by the Australian Consulate General in Guangzhou and Shenzhen authorities.

    The two Shenzhen events were part of the more than 150 activities held during Australia Week in China (AWIC) from April 11 to April 15 across 12 major Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Chengdu. More than 1,000 Australian businesspeople were part of the trip to China last week to capitalize on potential opportunities arising from the free trade agreement (FTA) between China and Australia, which was in place at the end of last year. According to Australian media, hundreds more people were not able to join the Chinese trip because of the cap on participating numbers.

    The large business delegation was aimed at highlighting the first visit by Malcolm Turnbull, the newly appointed prime minister of Australia, to China. He paid a two-day visit to China from April 14 to 15 and met with Chinese leaders. During the trip, Turnbull announced that his country would soon grant 10-year visas to Chinese and allow online applications.

    Turnbull, a former Australian minister of communications, contested and won the party room ballot on Sept. 14, 2015 to replace Tony Abbot as leader of the ruling Liberal Party and thus became prime minister of Australia.

    Turnbull has a rather good understanding of Chinese history and culture. Observers said that his thoughts about China are mainly based on the books of famous American diplomat and politician Henry Kissinger, an influential adviser to U.S. presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. His 33-year-old son Alex Turnbull is married to a Chinese woman.

    Several days ago, I happened to read a foreign policy statement delivered by Turnbull on May 1, 2009 while he was the opposition party leader in Australia. At the end of the speech, he said in dealing with the relations with China, as with all great powers in the world, Australia should be straightforward and strong in clearly articulating the national interests.“If we wish to express our approach in Chinese, then we should paraphrase Chairman Mao Zedong’s words as saying: Aodalia renmin zhan qilaile — which means the Australian people have stood up.” Such a statement, to some extent, shows his deep understanding of China and the Chinese language and history.

    Just like his words, Turnbull was very straightforward when dealing with China after taking power in September 2015. While attending the 10th East Asia Summit in Malaysia last November, he warned China directly that it would not only isolate the country in the region but also start a war should it continue with its territorial claims and “threaten navigation” in the South China Sea.

    As a businessman-turned-politician, Turnbull is very realistic. He knows that business is always before pleasure. He has made policy changes in the light of changing global conditions. With the implementation of the free trade agreement between China and Australia on Dec. 20, 2015, he regards business cooperation as a breakthrough point to enhance strategic ties with China.

    The business trip to China by Turnbull and more than 1,000 businesspeople last week was really a stone that killed two birds.

    On the one hand, the Australian Government is facing a tough task to recover its economy. The Australian dollar depreciated at least 20 percent during 2015. Meanwhile, Australian iron ore, other mineral resources and housing properties mainly rely on rich buyers from China. According to a report by the Wall Street Journal on April 11, China was also the biggest foreign investor in Australia in 2015, with a total investment of A$47 billion (US$36 billion). Moreover, China has been the largest trade partner with Australia for seven consecutive years since 2009. Based on the free trade agreement, Australian exports and services can now enter the gigantic Chinese market with few or even no tariffs or trade barriers, making 86 percent of Australian products tariff-free when entering China. That number will rise to as high as 94 percent in 2019 and 96 percent in 2029. Almost zero tariffs for exports to China will surely work as a momentum to further invigorate the sluggish Australian economy.

    On the other hand, as a multi-party country, Australia usually has to balance bipartisanship when making foreign policies. However, trade with China, as an important aspect of foreign relations, could be an area in which all sides of politics in Australia want to join hands and work together for the country’s national benefit.

    (The author is the editor-in-chief of the Shenzhen Daily with a Ph.D. from the Journalism and Communication School of Wuhan University.)