China-Oz projects ease negativity
Those who dismiss Chinese market will miss out on future: expert
Chinese and Australian companies are actively carrying out innovation collaboration, which challenges the Australian politicians and media agencies that tarnish China and fan anti-China hysteria.
“We have developed connection with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation [CSIRO] of Australia, and share each other’s scientific achievements in such aspects as algae removal and disinfection using mineral ions,” Deng Jingshan, manager of Shijiazhuang Yuanshengyuan Environmental Co, told the Global Times on Monday.
Established in 2009 in North China’s Hebei Province, Yuanshengyuan is mainly engaged in ecological water treatment and waste water management, including for river channels and lakes.
“Based on mutual trust and non-political factors, the collaboration between us has been smooth since we signed the strategic cooperation agreement,” Deng said, adding that increasing technology capacity has helped boost the company’s business, which had a contracted volume worth over 50 million yuan ($7.26 million) in the first half of 2018, surpassing the year-round record for 2017. According to Deng, his Australian partner has expressed hope for deepening cooperation and grabbing more shares of the Chinese market by introducing more advanced technologies to China.
Apart from Yuanshengyuan, many other Chinese enterprises such as Hangzhou Cable Co and Tianjin Origin Water Environmental Technology Co have conducted research projects with Australian institutions.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull highlighted the collaboration in innovation between Chinese and Australian industries and institutions during an event held at the University of New South Wales on August 7, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
The university has signed a $20 million deal with Hangzhou Cable Co based on graphene-enhanced high performance electricity grid transmission lines.
“It is expected to boost transmissions [in China] by 5 percent, which equates to saving 275 terawatt hours,” Turnbull said.
At the event, he also explained how partnerships between Chinese and Australian scientists have helped spur the development of the solar power industry across the globe, Xinhua reported.
Persisting concerns
Despite Turnbull’s positive signals, some Chinese businesspeople are still concerned that their businesses in Australia may be affected by the tense China-Australia relationship.
Huang Kun, a partner at Melbournebased property development consultancy firm Mezzanine Property Group, told the Global Times on Monday that Chinese people’s Australian visas have been delayed recently.
“What used to take one month now takes around three months,” he noted.
His firm purchases construction materials from companies in China but he feels there has been no impact so far on his business as a result of recent tension between the two countries.
“If the tension continues, I’m afraid our business may be affected in the long term, for instance, higher import and export tax and negative public opinion [in Australia] toward Chineseowned firms,” he said.
In an unprecedented move, Australia announced a strategy titled “An India Economic Strategy to 2035” on July 12, which aims to lift India up to become one of the country’s top three export markets, to make India the third-largest destination in Asia for Australian outward investment, and to bring India into the inner circle of Australia’s strategic partnerships.
The Australia-India strategic relationship is closely linked to “the broader security of the region and therefore inevitably also brings in China, if only because China, like the US, looms large in the strategic calculations of both countries,” read a related document on the Australian government website.
Ruan Zongze, deputy director of the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times that China is a market full of huge potential that Australia can’t miss.
Australians who believe that China is a threat will create a boomerang effect, leaving Australia as the side that ends up getting hurt, Ruan said. “Canberra being hostile toward China does itself no good, and the China-Australia relationship may be worse off if Australia does not prevent losses.”
The two countries, both open economies, should strengthen cooperation to offset adverse influences brought about by unilateralism and protectionism, he said.
In 2017, foreign trade between China and Australia stood at 923.4 billion yuan, up 29.1 percent year-on-year, data from the General Administration of Customs showed in January. China is the largest market for Australian exports, representing over 30 percent of Australia’s total export volume.