China
Australia as an Asian power leaves no room for economic fantasy
Authors: Peter Drysdale and Shiro Armstrong, ANU
For Australia to join the great decoupling from China that some Americans and Australian security officials demand would bring devastating costs to Australia and to economic and political security across Northeast Asia. It fails to appreciate that exorcising our trade with China would also decouple trade from Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia.
Australia and the world are grappling with the worst economic crisis since the 1930s. The economic, political and foreign policy choices that are made now will determine security, prosperity and stability for decades to come.
As an integral part of the shift of global economic gravity to Asia, Australia supplies two-thirds of all Northeast Asia’s externally procured iron ore, a large proportion of its other raw materials imports and over a quarter of all Japan’s energy needs. For its part, Asia constitutes almost two-thirds of Australia’s trade, China more than half of that.
The Asian economic success story is no consequence of imperial conquest or political suzerainty, communist or otherwise. It derives from Asian countries’ commitment to international trade rules and arrangements for regional economic cooperation that underpin the confidence in Asian integration into the global economy. That’s where Australian and regional prosperity and security has been found over the past 70 years. And that’s where its future is embedded.
Both Australia and China show signs of retreat from the commitment to openness that delivered this prosperity, including avoiding the worst of the global financial crisis and resilience through the COVID-19 crisis. China intervenes in barley and beef markets and now threatens Australian wine imports. Australia flirts with diversifying trade away from China and tightens regulations against foreign investment — largely aimed at Chinese investors — impeding a vital source of capital, technology and links to growing markets.
Australia’s huge bilateral economic relationship with China cannot be separated from China’s integration with other key partners in Asia. The China relationship is deeply interdependent with those relationships too. The manufactured imports that Australia secures from China include many Japanese, Korean and, yes, US and European brands. At least a fifth of the value in all Chinese exports is added in other countries, mostly Asia. Australian resource exports to Asia are the foundation of regional supply chains. Japan’s biggest corporations are major exporters of Australian produce to China, not just to Japan.
China is thus central to Australia’s future in Asia. Retreating from economic engagement with China into a world of Anglospheric stagnation and inviting deep regional insecurity is unwise. The United States may be willing to pay the price of decoupling from China, and expect others to, but it has more swivel room. National security without economic security would severely weaken Australia’s defences and diminish its diplomatic influence.
To avoid that requires a cool and determined Australian strategy. But those who are now defining China as an ‘enemy’ have not yet considered, let alone defined, such a strategy.
Australia now has to stand its ground with both the United States and China. That means engaging intelligently with China, eschewing both appeasement and needless confrontation. It also means continued distancing from the more extreme of US policies. Second, it will require the forging of a cooperative multilateral effort within the region that includes China.
That will only be possible if Australia finds its role as an Asian power.
Beijing needs to see Australia as a close ally and partner of the United States and Japan, as well as South Korea, ASEAN and India, but also a reliable and secure supplier of raw materials, agricultural products and global services such as education. Australia has to play a regional lead in genuine support of the WTO and plurilateral arrangements that strengthen a rules-based global economic order.
Alas, domestic political objectives in both countries are contributing to ramping up nationalism and defining the other as an enemy. These tensions are two-way. Beijing, isolated already by misdoings mostly of its own, will be a less reliable partner if these trends continue. Australia can reaffirm its guarantees of supply and markets as it did with Japan in an earlier time, providing a bedrock of secure trade in an increasingly tense environment.
There is a huge difference between coalitions for openness that…
China
New Report from Dezan Shira & Associates: China Takes the Lead in Emerging Asia Manufacturing Index 2024
China has been the world’s largest manufacturer for 14 years, producing one-third of global manufacturing output. In the Emerging Asia Manufacturing Index 2024, China ranks highest among eight emerging countries in the region. Challenges for these countries include global demand disparities affecting industrial output and export orders.
Known as the “World’s Factory”, China has held the title of the world’s largest manufacturer for 14 consecutive years, starting from 2010. Its factories churn out approximately one-third of the global manufacturing output, a testament to its industrial might and capacity.
China’s dominant role as the world’s sole manufacturing power is reaffirmed in Dezan Shira & Associates’ Emerging Asia Manufacturing Index 2024 report (“EAMI 2024”), in which China secures the top spot among eight emerging countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The other seven economies are India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and Bangladesh.
The EAMI 2024 aims to assess the potential of these eight economies, navigate the risks, and pinpoint specific factors affecting the manufacturing landscape.
In this article, we delve into the key findings of the EAMI 2024 report and navigate China’s advantages and disadvantages in the manufacturing sector, placing them within the Asia-Pacific comparative context.
Emerging Asia countries face various challenges, especially in the current phase of increased volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA). One notable challenge is the impact of global demand disparities on the manufacturing sector, affecting industrial output and export orders.
This article is republished from China Briefing. Read the rest of the original article.
China Briefing is written and produced by Dezan Shira & Associates. The practice assists foreign investors into China and has done since 1992 through offices in Beijing, Tianjin, Dalian, Qingdao, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Suzhou, Guangzhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong. Please contact the firm for assistance in China at china@dezshira.com.
China
Is journalist Vicky Xu preparing to return to China?
Chinese social media influencers have recently claimed that prominent Chinese-born Australian journalist Vicky Xu had posted a message saying she planned to return to China.
There is no evidence for this. The source did not provide evidence to support the claim, and Xu herself later confirmed to AFCL that she has no such plans.
Currently working as an analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, or ASPI, Xu has previously written for both the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, or ABC, and The New York Times.
A Chinese language netizen on X initially claimed on March 31 that the changing geopolitical relations between Sydney and Beijing had caused Xu to become an expendable asset and that she had posted a message expressing a strong desire to return to China. An illegible, blurred photo of the supposed message accompanied the post.
This claim was retweeted by a widely followed influencer on the popular Chinese social media site Weibo one day later, who additionally commented that Xu was a “traitor” who had been abandoned by Australian media.
Following the publication of an ASPI article in 2021 which exposed forced labor conditions in Xinjiang co-authored by Xu, the journalist was labeled “morally bankrupt” and “anti-China” by the Chinese state owned media outlet Global Times and subjected to an influx of threatening messages and digital abuse, eventually forcing her to temporarily close several of her social media accounts.
AFCL found that neither Xu’s active X nor LinkedIn account has any mention of her supposed return to China, and received the following response from Xu herself about the rumor:
“I can confirm that I don’t have plans to go back to China. I think if I do go back I’ll most definitely be detained or imprisoned – so the only career I’ll be having is probably going to be prison labor or something like that, which wouldn’t be ideal.”
Neither a keyword search nor reverse image search on the photo attached to the original X post turned up any text from Xu supporting the netizens’ claims.
Translated by Shen Ke. Edited by Shen Ke and Malcolm Foster.
Asia Fact Check Lab (AFCL) was established to counter disinformation in today’s complex media environment. We publish fact-checks, media-watches and in-depth reports that aim to sharpen and deepen our readers’ understanding of current affairs and public issues. If you like our content, you can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and X.
Read the rest of this article here >>> Is journalist Vicky Xu preparing to return to China?
China
Guide for Foreign Residents: Obtaining a Certificate of No Criminal Record in China
Foreign residents in China can request a criminal record check from their local security bureau. This certificate may be required for visa applications or job opportunities. Requirements and procedures vary by city. In Shanghai, foreigners must have lived there for 180 days with a valid visa to obtain the certificate.
Foreign residents living in China can request a criminal record check from the local security bureau in the city in which they have lived for at least 180 days. Certificates of no criminal record may be required for people leaving China, or those who are starting a new position in China and applying for a new visa or residence permit. Taking Shanghai as an example, we outline the requirements for obtaining a China criminal record check.
Securing a Certificate of No Criminal Record, often referred to as a criminal record or criminal background check, is a crucial step for various employment opportunities, as well as visa applications and residency permits in China. Nevertheless, navigating the process can be a daunting task due to bureaucratic procedures and language barriers.
In this article, we use Shanghai as an example to explore the essential information and steps required to successfully obtain a no-criminal record check. Requirements and procedures may differ in other cities and counties in China.
Note that foreigners who are not currently living in China and need a criminal record check to apply for a Chinese visa must obtain the certificate from their country of residence or nationality, and have it notarized by a Chinese embassy or consulate in that country.
Foreigners who have a valid residence permit and have lived in Shanghai for at least 180 days can request a criminal record check in the city. This means that the applicant will also need to currently have a work, study, or other form of visa or stay permit that allows them to live in China long-term.
If a foreigner has lived in another part of China and is planning to or has recently moved to Shanghai, they will need to request a criminal record check in the place where they previously spent at least 180 days.
There are two steps to obtaining a criminal record certificate in Shanghai: requesting the criminal record check from the Public Security Bureau (PSB) and getting the resulting Certificate of No Criminal Record notarized by an authorized notary agency.
This article is republished from China Briefing. Read the rest of the original article.
China Briefing is written and produced by Dezan Shira & Associates. The practice assists foreign investors into China and has done since 1992 through offices in Beijing, Tianjin, Dalian, Qingdao, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Suzhou, Guangzhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong. Please contact the firm for assistance in China at china@dezshira.com.
- New Report from Dezan Shira & Associates: China Takes the Lead in Emerging Asia Manufacturing Index 2024
- Is journalist Vicky Xu preparing to return to China?
- Guide for Foreign Residents: Obtaining a Certificate of No Criminal Record in China
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