By Gu Shihong with China News Service (CNS)
April 27, 2023
As China-Australia relations continue to improve and stabilize, how can the two sides seize the opportunity to actively promote exchanges and cooperation in economy, trade, education and culture to achieve sustained, healthy and stable development of bilateral relations? Geoff Raby, former Australian ambassador to China, recently gave an exclusive interview to W.E. Talk at China News Service to offer his explanation of these issues.
Here are excerpts from the interview:
CNS: In your book China’s Grand Strategy and Australia’s Future in the New Global Order, you wrote: “The economic complementarities between China and Australia are so strong that Australia’s economic dependence on China will not change unless Australians are willing to accept a decline in living standards.” Could you tell us about the positive impact that China’s economic growth has had on Australia and even the wider world?
Geoff Raby: China’s economic modernization and growth over the last 40 years or so has been of great significance to the world. Australia, under the leadership of Prime Minister Bob Hawke, was one of the first developed Western countries to recognize the importance of China’s reform and opening-up policy and to contribute to China’s development by unleashing unprecedented economic potential. Australia has been and will continue to be a major beneficiary of China’s emergence.
As China is the fastest-growing major economy in the world, it is in Australia’s national interest to ensure a strong and cooperative economic relationship with China. The faster China’s economy grows, the greater the potential economic benefits are for Australia, provided that Australia can carry out the reforms necessary to become an efficient and competitive supplier to the Chinese market. In this way, Australia’s engagement with China can help drive these policy reforms and improve the living standards of the Australian people.
Attracting more Chinese investment into Australia has become an important element of the trade relations between the two countries. For Australia to attract more investment from the world’s second-largest economy, the Australian Federal Government should provide Chinese companies with clearer information on which sectors they can invest in and which they will be restricted from investing in. It needs to be clear about which areas are open to Chinese investment and send clear signals about this.
CNS: In what ways are China and Australia highly complementary?
Geoff Raby: Australia and China certainly are highly complementary. The mutual benefits and win-win results of cooperation in many areas are obvious, particularly in climate change. Australia has a lot of clean energy resources but many development projects lack funding. Therefore it would be very good for the two sides to work together on funding and the research and development of clean energy along with its applications utilizing China’s large market. In addition, Australia’s high-quality clean coal is a mutually beneficial project for both Australia and China, and cooperation for reciprocated advantages is consistent with the current policy of the ruling Australian Labor Party in its dealings with China.
Education cooperation is also an important element of cultural exchange between Australia and China, not least because China remains the largest source of international students for higher education in Australia, and interpersonal exchanges are the best way to demonstrate mutual understanding between the two countries.
Of course, in terms of regional security cooperation, the two countries also need to improve mutual political trust, which is currently not possible due to the intervention of the United States. However, there are already many examples of cooperation between Australia and China in disaster relief and rescue, such as the search and rescue efforts for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.
CNS: This year marks the 10th anniversary of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). What do you think of it?
Geoff Raby: The BRI has provided much-needed infrastructure investment to many countries. While it has encountered problems, such as poor implementation of some projects and financing, it seems that China is taking a more prudent and balanced approach to addressing these issues. The state of Victoria in Australia could be a major beneficiary of the BRI, as it faces mounting pressure and increasing demand for infrastructure construction.
CNS: Australia is a country that celebrates diverse cultures. Please tell us about the Chinese people’s contribution to Australia’s multicultural society.
Geoff Raby: Chinese immigration to Australia began in the 1850s and the Chinese culture brought by the large number of Chinese immigrants has become part of Australia’s diverse cultures, something that most Australians recognize. Chinese is Australia’s second most spoken language at home after English. People of Chinese descent are an important part of Australia’s multicultural society.
CNS: What is your view on current and future China-Australia relations?
Geoff Raby: Over the past seven years, Australia-China relations have gone through a difficult period. This is in large part due to the profound changes in the US-China relationship as the US has begun to regard China as a strategic challenger. Both Australia and China now want to re-examine their relationship to understand why the difficulties have arisen and work together to avoid such things in the future. Bilateral relations are now moving towards normalization, with optimistic prospects in sight. Nevertheless, with the geopolitical situation undergoing profound changes over the past few years, both countries need to learn a “new diplomacy” to manage the relationship while avoiding confrontation. China is not Australia’s strategic enemy and the two countries have no outstanding historical issues. Sound Australia-China relations would be conducive to Australia’s prosperity and security as it is today.
About the interviewee:
Geoff Raby was born in Melbourne in September 1953 and served as the Australian Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China from February 2007 to August 2011. He was the Australian Ambassador to the World Trade Organization from 1998 to 2001, and the Australian Ambassador to APEC from 2003 to 2005. He was awarded the Order of Australia in 2019 in recognition of his contribution to Australia-China relations and international trade. In March 2020, he published the book China’s Grand Strategy and Australia’s Future in the New Global Order.
