Leap of faith [By Jiao Haiyang/China.org.cn]

It is very obvious by reading the White Paper that Australia has become much more assertive of what a rising Asia has in store for it, and what strategy it will employ to actively shape its future. Just as Prime Minister Julia Gillard put it in the Foreword, "Whatever else this century brings, it will bring Asia's rise." She defined our time as "a time of enormous change" and made a tone-setting note for the whole paper: "History teaches us that as economic weight shifts, so does strategic weight." She described relations with China as a "principal relationship" whilst reiterating an alliance with the United States. All in all, the White Paper devoted an impressive amount of space to China's success, importance, relations with Australia, national conditions, and future prospect and highlighted the economic significance of China and India's growth.

It is welcome news that Australia has come out with an overall strategy to embrace the Asian century, and I believe most Asian countries will welcome this forward-looking posture. But more important is what substantive measures Australia will take to enforce its uplifting blueprint. Take the China-Australia relationship for example. Although it has withstood the test of time and is now placed on solid ground, there are nevertheless certain aspects that we could have done better. It takes more than confidence and mutual understanding to make our bilateral relationship more successful.

First and foremost, bilateral relationships shouldn't be interfered with or distracted by factors that may not be apparently relevant. It is a common sense that China and Australia have marked differences in terms of social systems, cultural traditions and national conditions. Yet, both countries should engage in practical and reciprocal interaction and cooperation with a view to the future. It is very important to realize that certain political and ideological prejudices can only divide our peoples further apart, and are to be done away with in normal international relations. Just as Mr. John Howard warned, Australia "should not lecture China to change her system…" There is true wisdom in this remark that deserves serious reflection. Based on Mr. Howard's idea, I would further propose two points to the leaders of both countries: First, mutual respect is a major guarantee for a healthy and lasting relationship; second, people's wellbeing should be the topmost objective and yardstick for bilateral relations.

The other thing not conducive to better bilateral ties, as I observe, is the clear vacillation on the Australian side over the past few years. There are at least three factors, political, economic, and partisan, that have contributed to such vacillation.

The political factor, for a major part, is the United States, Australia's closest ally. It seems that for years Australia has been striking a hard balance between the US and China. There seems to be a tacit measure of "political correctness".

The economic factor is the uncertainty Australia feels of the Chinese economy. Especially since the global financial crisis, Australia seems to be sitting on the fence, keeping a close eye on China's economy and looking for a "crash", as predicted by some people. In a sense, this factor is political, too. Now, however, with China's economic statistics showing stronger and positive signals, I am sure people in Australia will soon be talking about Chinese investments and the free trade agreement (FTA) again.

The partisan factor refers to the lack of better continuity between terms of government. When Liberal Prime Minister John Howard was in power, he was such a frequent visitor to China that "Howard" in Chinese became almost a household name. Unfortunately, the same is not true for Labor Prime Ministers Mr. Kevin Rudd and Ms. Gillard, with the former known in China mostly for his Chinese language competence. Even Mr. Bob Hawke, Australia's most popular PM until today, criticized recent governments' poor "level of visitation" to China and their decisions that have caused Australia-China relationship "to languish".

As the two countries are celebrating their 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations, it is worthwhile for both sides to think what could be further done to make a successful relationship bring more prosperity and benefit to the two peoples. The release of the White Paper leaves much to look forward to. It also enhanced my belief implied by the metaphors at this article's beginning: "Crouching tiger, hidden dragon" is no picture for China and Australia; but, the panda, moderate and peaceful, and the kangaroo, sporty and harmless, might have a lot in common.

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