Australia And Asia Essay -- essays research papers

This essay analyses the Australian-China bilateral relationship since 1945 and in particular its political significance to Australia. Many global factors have influenced this relationship, including the advent of the Cold War, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the collapse of the Soviet bloc European nations. In addition, internal political changes in Australia and China have both affected and been affected by the global changes. It will be analysed that Australia’s bilateral relationship with China has always had a sharp political edge but that approaching the new millenium economics and trade considerations are shaping Australias and for that matter Chinese politics. A central feature of the Government's approach to foreign and trade policy is the importance it attaches to strengthening bilateral relationships. Bilateral relationships are not an alternative to regional and multilateral efforts. Indeed, bilateral, regional and multilateral efforts are mutually supportive. When Australia works closely with another country on a global initiative, such as the conclusion of the Chemical Weapons Convention, it strengthens the bilateral relationship with that country. Similarly, cooperation within APEC helps to consolidate Australia's relations with individual APEC economies. In this way, multilateral and regional efforts feed back into, and broaden, bilateral relationships (Aggarwal 1998). In the Cold War years of the late 1940’s and lasting well into the proceeding four decades (Vadney 1998) Australian government policy towards China after the Chinese communist birth in 1949, was virtually achieved by an overriding commitment to anti-communism. Australias participation in the Korean War and later the Vietnam War meant that in a very real sense China (which gave direct tangible support to both the North Koreans and the North Vietnamese) was Australias enemy (Vadney 1998). Not surprisingly during this period there was a substantial body of public opinion which, either because of initiation at Australias involvement in both the Korean and Vietnam War’s, was because of interest in developing closer ties with China in economic and humanitarian grounds, was influencing the political orientation of the Australian government. The election of the Whitlam Labor government in 1972 saw the emergence of an explicit â€Å"recognition of China policy† and although this gov... ...est trading partner, and Australia as China's eleventh largest bilateral trading partner. Australian investment in China has expanded in recent years, and Australian firms have established a significant and growing presence. The Australian government has been working to advance these interests by improving market access to China. On 31 May 1999 Mr. Fischer, the then Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade, announced that, during his visit to China, Australia had reached in-principle bilateral agreement on key market access issues relating the China's accession to the WTO (Aggarwal 1998). The evidence is clear, Australias political appraisal at Chinese communism has changed dramatically since 1945. From an ally in World War 2, to an enemy in Korea and Vietnam and from an ideological assessment of â€Å"marauding yellow hordes† ready to invade Australias shores to a friendly regional Nation (partner almost) in the universal drive for economic growth and superiority. This bilateral relationship appears to have subsumed political differences and may well be ushering in a period or international economic and trading conglomerates encompassing hitherto sworn political adversaries.