US Financial Secretary Yellen visited China last week did not bring any good news on their mutual agreement. She claimed that China has an over production in electric cars, batteries and solar boards that would overwhelm the global market thus impacting on the US and European industry. She said US and Europe would counteract with trade wars for their own protection. China disagreed on this and would keep up government support to such production enterprises in China. Yet from analysis there is still hope that the two nations would maintain their relationship rather than going onto a full-on conflict.
On Australia, China’s approach has been easing off recently. China lifted tariff on Australian red wine by end of March, their trading relationship would be fully restored impending the lifting of restrictions on the import of lobster and beef from Australia. But Australia has indicated to explore other exporting marketplaces rather than being restrained by her dependence on China’s. Actually with US’s high-tech export restriction on China, many factories have been evacuating from China to other SE Asian countries. Australia being a world major exporter of raw materials should seize this opportunity in a change of the world’s production chain for building our export market with wider scope and higher variety.
Australia has attracted many immigrants from a wide span and this facilitates trade relationships with a number of countries. Actually, the outcome of the US-China trade war would not affect on our export that much. But the political tension building up in the pan pacific region could affect our social stability and economic development.
Yellen’s visit to China is a sign of hope to Australia in terms of economic cooperation and stability in our region despite a tense political US-China relationship. Chinese counting on China-Australia trade should feel better now although a breakthrough development in the near future is not optimistic. With the cessation of entrepreneurs’ immigration category Australia is no longer after big investors from China. Australia is also planning to cut back influx of overseas students with a view to easing off our nationals’ stress of living due to rising population. So Chinese immigrants really need to integrate more into the mainstream society for gaining better opportunities.
Chinese community has been growing rapidly on its own economic circle thus deterring Chinese immigrants from mixing up with other ethnic communities. Now we Chinese must seize this opportunity to more understand the mainstream society and to build better relation with other social communities.
Mr. Raymond Chow, Publisher of Sameway Magazine