Prioritizing pragmatism: An imperative for Sino-Australian relations

Editor's note: Hafijur Rahman, a special commentator on current affairs for CGTN, is a columnist and security and strategic analyst, working in a prominent Strategic Studies Center in Bangladesh. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

China and Australia should be partners rather than rivals, as the two countries enjoy all-round and multi-field relations, and their common interests far outweigh their differences, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said during his Australia tour.

Even a mere year ago, Sino-Australian relations appeared to be one of animosity, with the Morrison administration's politically adventurist "megaphone diplomacy" towards China. The fraught atmosphere even tempted certain sensationalist media outlets to peddle alarmist "red-alerts" narratives.

The bilateral ties have begun to take a notable shift since mid-2023, particularly following Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's visit to Beijing last November. Since then, thanks to concerted efforts from both parties to mend their fractured ties, the China-Australia ties have gradually bottomed out, recovered, and stabilized. This transition underscores a pragmatic recalibration, with sagacious understanding on both sides that cooperation, not reckless acts of hostility, defines the trajectory of their ties.

Apart from a one-to-one meeting with his Australian counterpart, Wang also co-hosts the seventh Australia-China Foreign and Strategic Dialogue, a longstanding diplomatic mechanism dedicated to discussing trade, security, and other bilateral and international issues. Wang's trip to Australia, after a seven-year hiatus, is poised to unlock promising avenues for both sides to retrospect on their past relationship, drawing invaluable insights and lessons to foster a stable and enduring bilateral relationship.

China and Australia should seize this pivotal diplomatic moment in charting a course toward a future defined by cooperation, mutual understanding, and shared prosperity. To that end, pragmatic diplomacy must be embraced as the quintessential guiding principle for bilateral engagements, as it has been for almost five decades before the ties took an unfortunate turn.

With the absence of any notable historical, political, or economic grievances, the China-Australia partnership is a unique case in international relations. It stands out as a beacon of synergy amidst the discernible diversities between the two Asia-Pacific nations. It serves as a vivid testament to the two crucial propositions for steering collaboration between and among diverse countries across the world.

First, as one of the most luminous examples of the Sino-Western relationship, the China-Australia ties have demonstrated how well nations can successfully seek common ground and foster mutual benefits even with fundamental differences in civilization, traditions, cultures, and systems of governance. Second, the staggering levels of mutual and collective gains stemming from the burgeoning exchanges across economic, security, cultural, and academic endeavors testify to the monumental advantages of a collaborative partnership anchored in pragmatic orientations and a win-win ethos.

In 1972, the year China and Australia established their diplomatic relations, the trade volume between the two countries was scarcely worth noting at a mere $100 million. That figure surged to an impressive $220.9 billion in 2022, even under the wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, solidifying China's position as Australia's largest trade partner.

However, the intricate dynamics of the bilateral economic relations between China and Australia extend far beyond the mere trade statistics. Both nations share a concurrent experience of embarking on transformative economic voyages, with Australia starting to deregulate its industries and opening up its economy to the world around the same time China embraced its reform and opening-up policy in the late 1970s. With an abundant supply of raw materials for construction and industrialization, Australia emerged as a primary source for China's imports, to a certain extent fueling its transformation from an agrarian economy to a pivotal global manufacturing powerhouse.

Simultaneously, Beijing's enduring commitment to the win-win relational ethos facilitated Canberra's exponential growth as a byproduct of China's astounding economic success. China buys about a third of Australia's exports and is the top overseas market for many Australian goods and services.

Thus, over the decades, China and Australia have cultivated a symbiotic trade tie, each leveraging the other's strength to bolster their respective economies. China boasts a vast market with considerable demand, an extensive industrial infrastructure, and a vast pool of high-quality workforces and entrepreneurial prowess. Meanwhile, Australia possesses enormous high-grade mineral resources and a sophisticated service sector.

After a tumultuous period of diplomatic topsy-turvy and tensions, Canberra seems increasingly inclined towards adopting a more prudent and pragmatic China policy. Since assuming office, the Albanese administration has taken a noticeably divergent turn from his predecessor's China policy. In response, China has demonstrated a high degree of diplomatic maturity by extending proactive and pragmatic measures, which ultimately has led to a reversal of the unprecedented decline in bilateral relations.

Canberra should grasp the underlying wisdom of Beijing's sagacious diplomatic reciprocity – an earnest and sincere acknowledgment of boundless opportunities and prospects that mutual interests-driven pragmatic diplomatic endeavors offer for the mutual advancement of both nations and the region as a whole. Instead of yielding to the external temptation for hostility, it should exhibit a more open-minded, adaptive, peace-oriented, respectful and solution-oriented diplomatic mindset.

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