Why China is Australia's most important ally (1 Viewer)

[sam04u]

1) Australia's recent economic success is due to our trade with China.
2) China is our biggest trade partner.
3) China is a regional superpower in Asia which is within proximity to Australia.
4) China resides over the worlds fastest growing economy.

Basically, Australia's best friend should be China. Yet - that really isn't the case all that often. Infact Rudd had the audacity to criticise China on Tibet, whilst in the same week celebrating Israel's 60th anniversary without making any references to their abbysmal human rights record.

So looking solely at Australian foreign affairs, who do we act as though is our closest ally? As always it's the United States of America.

I honestly don't understand this. In the first time in a while (with a Chinese speaking Australian Prime Minister and a rapidly growing China) Australia has an opportunity to become closer with our Asian neighbours, in particular China, Indonesia and Japan. But what are we doing? The same old thing we've always done - we stick to helping the United States of America.

Stephen Smith/Rudd's foreign policy of late has not been an effort to unify an Australian/Asian "community", but rather is focused on creating an Australian/Wider Pacific "community", what this means is we're trying to find more venues such as AIPAC to bring the United States closer to China. In effect revitalising the efforts of the past to increase America's influence on our door steps, and in turn diminish China's influence.

But why? What can we possibly have to gain from this? Nothing at all. China has alot more to offer Australia, therefore it's in our best interests to work more closely with China and expand it's area of influence, not the U.S.

Basically what our foreign affairs department is doing is trying to bring China and America together in order to isolate Russia. The problem is they don't get that it will not work. Russia =/= Soviet Union. China no longer has to take orders from us. Infact China has made it so clear that they're working with Russia this time around.

See: Shanghai Co-operation Organisation.

We either turn around and work more closely with China, or we're going to be pushed off into the sidelines and lose more and more regional relevance. We can't keep inviting our retarded friend America to the party.

Jitters as China hit by metals fatigue
http://business.smh.com.au/business/jitters-as-china-hit-by-metals-fatigue-20081009-4xn9.html


AUSTRALIA'S best shield from global economic turmoil - the high value of its commodity exports - is under threat with news that China has told suppliers to slow iron ore shipments and predictions that iron ore and coal prices could fall by 20 per cent next year.

Australia's fifth-largest iron ore exporter, Mount Gibson Iron, shocked the sharemarket yesterday by warning that its Chinese customers were asking it to delay shipments as demand slowed due to economic uncertainty and the tightening of credit facilities.

This announcement came hours before Kevin Rudd said he had received reassurance from the Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao, on Monday that China's growth forecasts remained strong.

He said he felt comforted by China's central bank cutting its interest rates by 0.27 percentage points to 6.93 per cent. "It would appear to me to be confirming that China intends long term to accelerate its growth strategy into the future," Mr Rudd said.

The rapid spread of the global financial crisis has led experts to reverse their expectations of another rise in bulk commodity prices. A 20 per cent fall in the price of iron ore and coal - now a serious prospect - could lower Australia's annual export earnings by $20 billion and wipe out billions in taxes from the surplus.

"It would have major repercussions," said ABN Amro's chief economist, Kieran Davies.

"It's certainly quite worrying," said ANZ's head of commodities research, Mark Pervan, who predicted the iron ore price would fall 20 per cent next year. "This is one of the clearest signs that the iron ore market is really starting to slow."

Larger iron producers such as BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Andrew Forrest's Fortescue Metals said their customers had not asked them to delay or cancel shipments. And Mount Gibson said its customers were obliged to take the ore because of their binding, long-term sales agreements.

BHP, Rio and Fortescue sell most of their ore to the 10 largest steel producers in China, while smaller miners such as Mount Gibson tend to sell to smaller mills that are more vulnerable in turbulent economic times.

Fortescue's executive director, Graeme Rowley, said Chinese customers were starting to become more selective, particularly when it came to purchasing from smaller miners.

But there are worrying signs that all iron ore miners will face a price cut next year. The daily spot price, which at one point this year was more than double the one-year contract price, is now trading in line with the contract price

 

[Animals]

Agreed. The US is on the downturn, and as time goes on, they will have less and less in terms of both power and resources. All countries should start licking Hu JinTao's balls, because before we know it he will be the leader of the free world.

 

[sam04u]

Yeah, I think the U.S is now in an irreperable state in terms of it's position as the world power. China is going to overtake it, and I fear we're betting on the wrong horse in this race.

Either way, China's success = Australia's success.
America's success = America's success.

Therefore it's common sense for us to back China and it's interests.
Right?

 

[staticsiscool]

Free world??

 

[Animals]

Free world??

You know what I mean. The free trading world. The globalised world.

 

[katie tully]

If only China had a textbook website where I could buy my textbooks cheap. I was loving that 1AUD = 90US cents thing for a while.

 

[Trefoil]

What a retarded thread.

 

[katie tully]

What a retarded thread.

You say that about every thread.

Please create a non-retarded one, so that Sam can see where he is going wrong.

 

[sam04u]

What a retarded thread.

Troll much?

 

[Silver Persian]

Can't Australia be friends with both China and the United States? Lay a bet each way

 

[Trefoil]

Troll much?

Idiot much?

 

[sam04u]

Idiot much?

Seriously, fuck off. This is a serious thread, and I don't want it being derailed by a moron like you.

 

[sam04u]

Can't Australia be friends with both China and the United States? Lay a bet each way

Ofcourse. That's the point I'm trying to make. We shouldn't only use China's friendship to further the United States' influence in our region. We should be working closely with both of them seperately, and both of them together.

 

[Lentern]

And what are we to simply disregard our moral values? Turn a blind idea to many evils within China which make The Bush administration appear quite measured and ethical? I'd rather take my chances and when China oversteps the mark like in Tibet, tell them that. Better to die a good man that live a bad one.

 

[Graney]

There's a recent tidbit that sums up the future of china's economy here:

Now this is all a very rough guesstimate and doesn't include the costs of all sorts of other ramifications. Here is a fun one: the dissolution of China. Its economy is built for hypergrowth. A dramatically rising standard of living is both keeping the Communist Party in power and keeping the country together. Neither might survive a global economic meltdown. What is the economic impact of that? I don't know. My guesstimator just blew up.

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/capital-commerce/2008/9/22/bailout-prevents-great-depression-20.html

The rate of growth of the chinese economy is far from healthy. Total economic and quite possibly political collapse is coming.

They will rebuild, and they will be a world power, but it will be slow road.

 

[sirfeathers]

Can't Australia be friends with both China and the United States? Lay a bet each way

Yar, well that's kinda where we are at the moment, only thing is though, the US is not really great friends with China(despite the fact that it's relying on China buying its Treasury bills to keep the US economy afloat). Putting up a big fuss in both the media and on the political stage, not happy about things like the way that China undervalues its currency to keep its exports competitive. Which makes more Americans buy Chinese exports as opposed to domestically-produced substitutes. I mean, there's no real reason why anyone can't be friends in most circumstances, but I reckon the US is feeling a little threatened by China at the mo, which makes it difficult for us to give our complete loyalty to one without seeming to compromise our loyalty to the other.

But considering the growing significance of China to the local economy, I think China would be the better bet of the two.

 

[bigboyjames]

sam04u, i agree with you 100%. but from a national secuirty issue i think US is our best ally.

 

[sam04u]

sam04u, i agree with you 100%. but from a national secuirty issue i think US is our best ally.

That makes no sense whatsoever.

Firstly, the US is practically on the other side of the world, whilst China is nearby to us.

Secondly, of the countries which could even pose a threat to Australia (in any theoretical situation) being closer with China eliminates these threats. (None of our neighbours compare to China militarily)

 

[lokilokii]

Economics aside, China doesn't have the greatest track record militarily.

World war 2 , Killing their own took priority over stopping the Japanese invaders, It was the Americans who came rolling around the pacific and saved us from retreating to the south side of Australia to fight the invading Japanese.

The Korean war we fought was with USA on our side against China and Russia.

To this day North Korea and china are allies, north Korea's only trading partner, and the only asian country that we would potentially go to war with would be in fact North Korea and once again china would support north korea and USA would support us (Or we support them)

 

[Captain Hero]

China's fucked in 10 years due to

a) international production moving to other SEA markets (Vietnam + others)
b) massive aging population problem

gggggggggggggggget your money OUTTA there