| rasputin |
05-06-2010 02:40 AM |
As China continues to grow in every respect, it implicates a certain sense of recognition and acknowledgement around it, as well as a duty by other countries to smoothly adapt to its burgeoning presence on the global spectrum – ‘... an increasingly resurgent and confident China... will test diplomacy and could require a capacity to adapt to change...’ (Mackerras, p.227). This is perhaps more so relevant to Australia, who has a lot at stake in continued fruitful exchange with China. But according to some, including Stuart Harris, this ‘change’ may not need be so drastic – as he neatly puts it, ‘Provided the recent more effective US management of the Taiwan issue is maintained, balancing Australia’s relationships with the two countries should not be especially problematic’ (Harris, p.1). And in what is perhaps the soundest judgement, this is true. There are no inhibitions to ‘promoting’ China to Australia’s most important bilateral relationship other than Australia’s pre-existing relationship with the US, which while being historically substantive and emblematic to its position in the world today, does not have the practical benefits it once did among Cold War alliance structures. Though being the only ‘real’ problem, it is inarguably huge – one minute action could appease one big kid will infuriating the other. This was evident in 1996 when Canberra supported US action of sending forces to Taiwan during their presidential elections after China had conducted missile tests in the Taiwan Strait in an attempt to pressure Taiwan (McDougall, p. 143). Nevertheless, the new millennium has seen a capacity for Canberra to be even more pragmatic towards China as relations between it and the US have cooled. The economic dimension has flared to even greater heights over the last few years, with China not only being an ever hungry market for our iron ore and natural gas, but also as an increasingly significant contributor to foreign direct investment (Drysdale & Findlay, p. 4). Though at the time of writing China was still behind Japan as Australia’s biggest export market, the Drysdale et al article’s predictions that it would soon be overtaken were soon proved – according to the Australian governments statistics, China’s share of exports has well exceeded that of Japan, with the US pining at fifth position (but more on this later).
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