Foreign affairs

On September 13 the Australia-China Relations Institute (ACRI) at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) presented the second event in their Chinese History Series. Dr Jayne Persian from the University of Southern Queensland joined Professor Heather Goodall from UTS and Daphne Lowe Kelly from the Chinese Australian Historical Society to discuss the White Australia Policy in Australian politics, and in particular her research on Arthur Calwell. Calwell became Minister for Immigration in Ben Chifley's post-war Labor government.

On January 26, in a speech to the US-Australia Dialogue on Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific in Los Angeles, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop supported a position where China’s rise is balanced by an expanded US role in the Indo-Pacific region:[1]

Last updated June 26 2017.

Despite recent negative publicity in the media, three polls provide evidence of a generally positive view of Australians to China. The polls were undertaken by the United States Studies Centre (USSC) at the University of Sydney; the Lowy Institute for International Policy; and global marketing and opinion research company Ipsos. The three polls also enable comparisons with our attitudes towards the United States.

By Bob Carr

Note: This article appeared in The Australian on June 10 2017.

Let’s be clear. Efforts by any country to subvert Australia should be investigated, monitored and brought to light. Yes, let’s ban donations from non-citizens. Let’s go further still — my own suggestion — and ban any donations that might reasonably be suspected as seeking to influence Australian foreign policy.

By Elena Collinson and James Laurenceson

Note: This article appeared in the University of Nottingham's China Policy Institute: Analysis on June 6 2017.

By Bob Carr

Note: This article appeared in The Sydney Morning Herald on May 23 2017.

It was like a meeting with an Old Testament prophet. Towering and rock-hewn, Malcolm Fraser was grave, telling me – Australia's new foreign minister – that America was capable of being drawn into a land war with China.

'Going to war with China and losing it. And then withdrawing from Asia.'

By James Laurenceson and Elena Collinson

Note: This article appeared in the Lowy Institute for International Policy's blog, The Interpreter, May 22 2017.

A divide has once again opened between Australian economic commentators and defence hawks, this time over China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and what Australia's response to it should be.

By James Laurenceson and Xunpeng Shi

Note: This article appeared in The Diplomat, May 19 2017.

China’s massive Belt and Road Forum wrapped up in Beijing on Tuesday. At its conclusion, Australia’s representative, Trade and Investment Minister Steve Ciobo, issued a guarded statement.

The Australia-China Relations Institute (ACRI) at the University of Technology Sydney welcomed Dr James Reilly, Associate Professor in Northeast Asian Politics at the University of Sydney, to discuss the complexities and challenges of China's current policy settings.

How will China deploy its economic clout as well as its economic diplomacy?

Dr Reilly made reference to his forthcoming book, China's Economic Statecraft in Asia and Europe, due to be published later this year.

Time: 6:00pm-7:30pm

By James Laurenceson

Note: This article appeared in East Asia Forum, May 14 2017.

Australia’s reluctance to participate in China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) harks back to its slow entry into the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). But this time it may be Australian state governments that push the federal government over the line, rather than decisions made by other countries.