No country has benefited as clearly from its relationship with China as Australia. Our society has been enriched by waves of Chinese migrants and sojourners since the 1850s gold rush. Today our communities are energised and enhanced by 180,000 students, 1.2 million tourists annually and another 1.2 million residents with Chinese ancestry, who have mostly thrived and been welcomed in their new country.
It is hard to think of any two economies in the world that are more complementary. The Chinese tourists and students have offset the waning of China’s resource-intensive construction boom, which boosted Australia’s national income by 13 per cent and helped it sail through the global financial crisis. Last year, Australia posted a bilateral trade surplus of almost $50 billion. And yet, despite China’s enormously positive contributions, the Australian media has become globally renowned for exposing the darker dimensions of the country’s international reach.
Reports have shown that the CCP is systematically silencing critics in Australia and co-opting Chinese-language media here to present favourable views.
It is hard to think of any two economies in the world that are more complementary. The Chinese tourists and students have offset the waning of China’s resource-intensive construction boom, which boosted Australia’s national income by 13 per cent and helped it sail through the global financial crisis. Last year, Australia posted a bilateral trade surplus of almost $50 billion. And yet, despite China’s enormously positive contributions, the Australian media has become globally renowned for exposing the darker dimensions of the country’s international reach.
Reports have shown that the CCP is systematically silencing critics in Australia and co-opting Chinese-language media here to present favourable views.
