“In the past, we’ve been very accustomed to having a big trading partner and a big defense partner being almost the same country, with Britain for a long time and then the US. Now there is sort of a split in the way that we have to think about things,” said Peter Arkell, an Australian who has been doing business with China for about 20 years and who is now Managing Director of Carrington Day, a consulting company for international business. 

“We have an absolutely dominant partner in terms of trade with China, and we have an absolutely dominant partner with the US when it comes to defense. We have to work out that sort of balance,” he argued.

His comments came after the 45th anniversary of the establishment of China-Australia diplomatic ties this month. “For those of us on the ground, I think overwhelmingly the view is extremely positive, with very bullish opportunities and the need for deepening engagement,” Arkell said. 

He added that for individuals back in Australia, looking at China, “there’s still nervousness, maybe even a fear. Maybe China is too big to contemplate,” he said. 

Regarding economic cooperation, he said Australia could have a complementarity relationship with the Chinese economy, referring to Australian resources and the other way around, that China can also significantly benefit Australian companies. 

In 2016, Australian exports to China totaled 93 billion Australian dollars, mainly in iron ore, coal, gold, liquefied natural gas, and tourism. 

“The big mining companies wouldn’t be what they are today if China hadn’t come along,” he argued. “The price of iron ore today is around about 80 dollars. Back in early 2000, it was around about 15 dollars a tonne. That’s a big change. That change is brought by China’s interest in the resources market,” he said.