Launch of ACRI report: 'Do the claims stack up? Australia talks China'

November 12 2018

The Australia-China Relations Institute (ACRI) at the University of Technology Sydney launched a new report by Professor James Laurenceson, ACRI Deputy Director, entitled 'Do the claims stack up? Australia talks China'.

When Australia talks about China, the China Opportunity, illustrated by $184 billion dollars of two-way trade, isn’t the whole story. Some of China’s behaviour, such as in the South China Sea, presents challenges to Australia’s national interest. However, some Australian scholars and policy practitioners have warned that this China Challenge can easily become a discourse of China Threat, China Angst and China Panic. This way of talking about China sees claims and assertions separated from a firm evidence base. This new ACRI report reveals just how widespread such discourses have become in recent years. If this were to become a habit, it might sabotage the calm and reasoned response that the China Challenge demands. At the same time, it could provoke policy responses that make it harder for Australia to capitalise on the benefits offered by the China Opportunity. Report author ACRI Deputy Director Professor James Laurenceson was interviewed by ACRI Director Professor Bob Carr and participated in a Q&A session with the audience.

Time: 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm

Related links

'Australian media discourse on China - with James Laurenceson', The ACRI Podcast, November 15 2018. Subscribe to the ACRI Podcast on iTunes.

James Laurenceson

Professor James Laurenceson is Deputy Director of the Australia-China Relations Institute at UTS. He has previously held appointments at the University of Queensland (Australia), Shandong University (China) and Shimonoseki City University (Japan). He was President of the Chinese Economics Society of Australia from 2012-2014. His academic research has been published in leading scholarly journals including China Economic Review and China Economic Journal. Professor Laurenceson also provides regular commentary on contemporary developments in China’s economy and the Australia-China economic and broader relationship. His opinion pieces have appeared in the Australian Financial Review, The Australian, Sydney Morning Herald, South China Morning Post, amongst many others.