Beijing Forum on China-Australia Relations 2018
2018 北京中澳关系论坛
by Colin Mackerras 马克林
On 5 May 2018, the Australian Studies Centre of the Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU), led by Li Jianjun, held the Beijing Forum on China-Australia Relations 2018 in the School of English and International Studies, BFSU. The theme was “The shift of Australia’s foreign policy in the context of Indo-Pacific Strategy, China-Australia relations and Australia-US relations”. The forum hoped to shed light on the recent and quite rapid decline in China-Australia relations and to try to find ways of improving the situation.
The Forum was more or less entirely in English. It was fruitful, interesting and enjoyable. I, for one, learned a great deal and profited both from the presentations given and the discussions that followed. The Forum lasted the whole morning and was followed by a working lunch, which featured not only delicious food but interesting and enlightening discussions. Professor Han Feng of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences chaired the Forum. Professor Yu Lei, a guest professor at the BFSU, gave an enlightening summary history of China-Australia relations.
There is no point in describing all the papers and their topics. At the end of this paper, the participants are listed. What is preferable is to discuss the main issues raised.
As I saw it, there were two central issues. These were:
- The decline in the China-Australia relationship, both in politico-strategic terms, and the intensifying and dangerous debate over Chinese influence in Australia; and
- The international context of these trends, both strategic and especially economic, which partially explains this decline.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull got some criticism for his unduly pro-US policies and for singling out China as uniquely guilty in trying to spread influence against Australian values. Turnbull did this in December 2017 at the same time as introducing new security laws against foreign money designed to influence Australian politics and life. However, more attention was given to the media reports highlighting Chinese influence in the political system and in Australian society, especially the accusation that the Chinese government is using Chinese students in Australian universities as a kind of fifth column against Australian values.
Colin Mackerras, Professor Emeritus at Griffith University, raised these issues and especially noted and criticized the March 2018 book by Clive Hamilton entitled Silent Invasion, Chinese Influence in Australia, which argues that China is deliberately trying to carry out a “silent invasion” with the aim of undermining Australian sovereignty. Colin Mackerras noted that most reviews of the book had been critical, though some had praised it. He and several other speakers regarded the book as dangerous and poisonous, and as having the effect of stirring up Sinophobia without good evidence. Emeritus Professor David Walker of Deakin University noted that Australian history has long shown fertile ground for the seeds of Sinophobia.
Professor Zha Daojiong of Peking University pointed out aspects where China had criticised Australia for actions similar to those it had taken itself. He also took part actively in the discussion criticising Clive Hamilton’s book. He mentioned that Hamilton had actually interviewed him and shown no indication of wanting to get at the truth but only an obsession in favour of conclusions he had reached before beginning his research.
Professor Greg McCarthy, also of Peking University, gave partial explanation for the decline in China-Australia relations by pointing to the international context. Worldwide, nationalist leaders are emerging, while in the West the liberal democratic system has come under increased strain. These trends have been evident for quite some time, but the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president have worsened them. Rightist anti-immigration parties have risen to power in many Western countries, largely due to increased economic inequalities there and failures to match increased education with better job opportunities.
Xie Tao, Vice Dean of the School of English and International Studies at the BFSU, argued that the West had become progressively less confident of its own system of democracy over the years. As a symbol of this trend, he noted the case of the famous writer and political scientist Francis Fukuyama. In 1989, at the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall, he was arguing that liberal democracy had become the only viable system of government. He wrote an essay arguing that history had ended, because one system had won out against the others in the struggle for human progress. In 1992 he published his book The End of History and the Last Man. But he has retreated definitively from this position in the face of the rise of China and the failure of liberal democracy to solve world problems. The shift in balance between the West and “the rest”, especially China, which has seen the West’s position weaken vis-à-vis China and other countries, is among the factors making up the context in the decline of China-Australia relations.
At the lunch following the Forum, an attempt was made to suggest solutions to the decline in China-Australia relationship. Possibilities include reaching out more to Australian business and media organisations.
The problems may not be soluble in the short term. However, the Forum was an excellent one in that it highlighted difficult problems openly and featured very good discussion with alternative points of view and amicable debate. Participants may be worried for the short-term future, but the general feeling was optimistic about the long term. This is because of the size and scope of such important bilateral dealings as trade, tourism and educational exchange; also, there are no fundamental conflicts of interest between Australia and China and no disputed borders.
6 May 2018
Speakers at the Forum:
- Professor HAN Feng, Research Fellow, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Professor, BFSU
- Professor XIE Tao, Vice Dean of the School of English and International Studies, BFSU
- Professor ZHA Daojiong, School of International Studies, Peking University
- Professor YU Lei, Research Centre for Pacific Island Countries, Liaocheng University, Guest Professor, BFSU
- Professor Colin Mackerras, Professor Emeritus, Griffith University; Honorary Professor, BFSU
- Professor David Walker, Emeritus Professor, Deakin University; Distinguished Professor, BFSU
- Professor Greg McCarthy, BHP Chair of Australian Studies at Peking University
Links to other universities and conferences attended
Beijing Foreign Languages University
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