China Matters: Getting It Right For Australia

By Bates Gill and Linda Jakobson

LaTrobe University Press, $30, 256 pages, ISBN 9781863959179

No-one disputes that China matters to Australia, and is going to matter more in the future. The issue, according to China-watchers Gill, from ANU, and Jakobson, of the Lowy Institute, is how the relationship can be successfully managed and developed.

They spend the first section of the book showing how intertwined China and Australia have become through trade. China and the Chinese people appear to have good attitudes towards Australia but their greater emphasis is on assuming a pre-eminent strategic position in Asia and the world. Gill and Jakobson note, for example, that special deals on trade can easily turn into coercive levers when political disputes arise. Businesses should take note of this, even while trying to develop as many connections as possible, building on past successes to move up the value chain. Within Australia, there needs to be more emphasis on learning Chinese in schools and more focus on China from Canberra.

A crucial question that Gill and Jakobson ask is how to hold onto Australian principles while deepening engagement with China. There is no simple template but they put forward some illustrative examples, such as reiterating that Australian citizens of Chinese background are subject to Australian law, not Chinese law. Equally, Australia should continue to speak out about violations of human rights in China, even if it causes discomfort in Beijing. Honesty is an important part of a good relationship.

China Matters should be read by anyone doing business with China. It is not always an easy book, but it is an important one.