Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard today will unveil a 10-year plan to tighten Australia's embrace of China, flagging three-nation military exercises to include the US and more Chinese investment in Australia. The declaration comes as Canberra and Beijing have clinched a deal for an annual meeting mechanism between the Australian prime minister and the Chinese … Continue reading Australian Prime Minister strengthens military alliance with China, ignores 2009 report of threat
Tag: China
Australia and China agree to new annual leaders’ forum; few other outcomes of China trip
Australia and China have agreed to top level strategic talks to strengthen and provide direction to an economically crucial relationship which also presents vast opportunities. In one of the few immediate outcomes from Julia Gillard's high-octane charm offensive to China which wraps up on Wednesday, a new annual leaders' forum has been agreed, effectively mirroring … Continue reading Australia and China agree to new annual leaders’ forum; few other outcomes of China trip
Canberra doesn’t understand reality of China-Japan conflict, or consequences to Australia
In the event of a conflict between China and Japan, it's hard to think of a country that would be more exposed than Australia. Yet several leading defence scholars have warned that this prospect is receiving little attention from policy-makers and academics, and Australia is in denial about the risks. Defence specialist and consultant Ross … Continue reading Canberra doesn’t understand reality of China-Japan conflict, or consequences to Australia
Australian Prime Minister surprisingly disregards threats made by China
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has declared that Australia can grow its relationship with China while "tending" to its friendship with the US, playing down tensions caused by an agreement to allow US marines to exercise near Darwin. She seems to have totally disregarded threats made by China against Australia, particularly a warning in May … Continue reading Australian Prime Minister surprisingly disregards threats made by China
Australia has a secret China Unit
After years of policy confusion, a high-powered task force has been quietly pulling the China threads together in the federal bureaucracy. Canberra's leading mandarins have formed a secret task force to cope with the unprecedented challenges of rising China. The Committee of Secretaries on China was formed by a cabinet decision of December 2010 following … Continue reading Australia has a secret China Unit
Australia’s “Asia Literate” plan fails: more students learning Latin than Chinese
Asian language teaching in Australian schools has declined to the point where more year 12 students are studying Latin than Chinese. Despite China's growing importance and the Gillard government's goal of creating an ''Asia Literate'' society by 2025, fewer high school students who don't speak Chinese at home are learning the language than four years … Continue reading Australia’s “Asia Literate” plan fails: more students learning Latin than Chinese
Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd calls on China to calm North Korea
North Korea's nuclear program poses a serious threat to China's own relations with its neighbours, Kevin Rudd has warned officers at Beijing's main defence academy. In a speech at China's National Defence University, Mr Rudd said Pyongyang's antics threatened China's foreign policy objectives because Asian nations were beginning to co-operate on regional anti-ballistic missile defences, … Continue reading Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd calls on China to calm North Korea
Australia warned of double whammy in China’s pending debt crisis
A major Asian investment bank says the seeds of a future financial crisis in China have been sown. Nomura is warning that debt levels in China are teetering at unsustainable levels. Debt in China is believed to be between 150 and 200 per cent of GDP, pushed up by easy monetary policy the government has … Continue reading Australia warned of double whammy in China’s pending debt crisis
Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd goes world wide on China’s assertiveness
He may no longer be prime minister but Kevin Rudd is about to again strut the world stage in support of an article for Foreign Affairs magazine on relations between China and the US. Mr Rudd has scheduled trips to South Korea, China and the US as parliament prepares to break ahead of the May … Continue reading Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd goes world wide on China’s assertiveness
China’s Citic fail to pay $400 million in Australian contract; can’t comprehend “rule of law” concept
Up to $400 million in royalty and purchase payments due to Queensland mining magnate Clive Palmer are in dispute and have not been paid, as a rift widens between him and China's Citic Pacific, the builder of the troubled $US8 billion ($7.8bn) Sino Iron project in Western Australia. Hong Kong-listed Citic has said it is … Continue reading China’s Citic fail to pay $400 million in Australian contract; can’t comprehend “rule of law” concept
Australia to sell kangaroo meat to China and Russia, worth hundreds of millions of dollars
The kangaroo meat industry is poised to expand its export market to China, with a promise to only cull males in a bid to thwart "fanatical" animal rights activists. The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry yesterday said it was working to open market access for kangaroo meat to China. "Representatives from the department are … Continue reading Australia to sell kangaroo meat to China and Russia, worth hundreds of millions of dollars
Australia’s Kevin Rudd supports US pivot as a ‘response to China’
China's assertive foreign and security policies are dominating strategic concerns in the Asia-Pacific region and have led directly to a strong US response, according to Kevin Rudd. In an article to be published next month in American journal Foreign Affairs, Mr Rudd says the "pivot" to Asia by US President Barack Obama was a direct … Continue reading Australia’s Kevin Rudd supports US pivot as a ‘response to China’
Australia fears having to choose between China and US
Australia does not want to be put in the position where it has to choose between the US and China, the new head of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has declared. In his first major public speech since taking over as DFAT secretary, Peter Varghese said: "The challenge for all of us is … Continue reading Australia fears having to choose between China and US
Australian Prime Minister to mend fences with China
Julia Gillard is planning to make up for previous Australian government snubs to China with a visit to Asia's premier financial forum in the first week of April. Despite the pressures of campaigning for a September election during the pre-budget parliamentary break, the Prime Minister plans to attend the Boao Forum for Asia, held on … Continue reading Australian Prime Minister to mend fences with China
Australian firms to ramp up China ventures
Australian companies are ramping up their investments in China as they express renewed confidence about the nation's economic growth while also warning of tougher competition from Chinese rivals. Almost three quarters of the Australian firms already operating in China are likely to expand their operations in the wake of the country's leadership transition late last … Continue reading Australian firms to ramp up China ventures
Australian Prime Minister looks to East Asia, digital threat, in new security strategy
Julia Gillard has waved a final goodbye to the so-called "9/11 decade", heralding a new age dominated by threats of cyber espionage and traditional great-power conflict. Like her centre-left contemporary Barack Obama, she is moving her party away from the preoccupations her predecessor - Middle Eastern conflicts, ballooning defence and intelligence budgets, an incessant focus … Continue reading Australian Prime Minister looks to East Asia, digital threat, in new security strategy
Australian coal mining threatens CO2 target
The forecast expansion of Australian coal mining and exports would be the world's second-largest contributor of new carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels if fully realised, research by Greenpeace International has found. An analysis of the planet's 14 largest proposed, coal, oil and gas developments - to be released on Wednesday by Greenpeace - finds … Continue reading Australian coal mining threatens CO2 target
Australian Prime Minister’s speech to have China, cyber crime focus
Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, reportedly will seek to boost Labor's defence credentials in a speech singling out China and cyber attacks as key security concerns. Ms Gillard will make the comments on Wednesday in her first important speech of the election year to the Australian National University's National Security College in Canberra, The Australian newspaper … Continue reading Australian Prime Minister’s speech to have China, cyber crime focus
December 19 1984 Britain and China sign Hong Kong return agreement
On December 19th 1984, in the Hall of the People in Beijing, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang signed an accord committing Britain to give Hong Kong back to China in 1997. In return, China incorporated terms pledging a 50 year continuation of Britain’s capitalist system. Hong Kong, a small peninsula … Continue reading December 19 1984 Britain and China sign Hong Kong return agreement
October 18 1860 Peking’s Summer Palace destroyed
On October 18th 1860, British troops occupying Peking, China, looted and then burnt the Yuanmingyuan, the fabulous summer residence built by the Manchu emperors in the 18th century. China's Qing leadership surrendered to the Franco-British expeditionary force soon after, ending the Second Opium War and Chinese hopes of reversing the tide of foreign domination in … Continue reading October 18 1860 Peking’s Summer Palace destroyed
October 16 1934 “The Long March” begins in China’s southwest
On October 16th 1934, the embattled Chinese Communists broke through Nationalist enemy lines and began an epic flight from their encircled headquarters in southwest China. Known as Ch'ang Cheng, the "Long March", the retreat lasted 368 days and covered 6,000 miles, nearly twice the distance from New York to San Francisco. Civil war in China … Continue reading October 16 1934 “The Long March” begins in China’s southwest
October 5 1989 Dalai Lama wins Nobel Peace Prize
On October 5th 1989, the Dalai Lama, the exiled religious and political leader of Tibet, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his nonviolent campaign to end the Chinese domination of Tibet. The 14th Dalai Lama was born as Tenzin Gyatso in Tsinghai Province, China, in 1935. He was of Tibetan parentage, and … Continue reading October 5 1989 Dalai Lama wins Nobel Peace Prize
October 1 1949 Mao Zedong proclaims People’s Republic of China
On October 1st 1949, naming himself head of state, communist revolutionary Mao Zedong officially proclaimed the existence of the People's Republic of China; Zhou Enlai was named premier. The proclamation was the climax of years of battle between Mao's communist forces and the regime of Nationalist Chinese leader Chiang Kai-Shek, who had been supported with … Continue reading October 1 1949 Mao Zedong proclaims People’s Republic of China
September 21 1949 Mao Zedong outlines the new Chinese government
On September 21st 1949, at the opening of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in Peking, Mao Zedong announced that the new Chinese government would be "under the leadership of the Communist Party of China." The September 1949 conference in Peking was both a celebration of the communist victory in the long civil war against … Continue reading September 21 1949 Mao Zedong outlines the new Chinese government
September 9 1976 Mao Zedong dies
On September 9th 1976, Chinese revolutionary and statesman Mao Zedong, who had been suffering from Parkinson's disease and other health problems, died in Beijing at the age of 82. The Communist leader and founder of the People's Republic of China is considered one of the most influential figures of the 20th century. Mao was born … Continue reading September 9 1976 Mao Zedong dies
Craig Hill 