China’s Rising Impact on Ordinary Australians

The notion of China’s economic, strategic and cultural rise has long given way to debate
about the “changing security environment” around Australia, and which powerful nation
Australia should align itself with to maximise its international security in the new Asian
Century.

As Professor John Blaxland puts forward, Australia’s strategic environment has not been in a
state of such uncertainty and change since the 1940s. The choice Australia must make
between the US (its traditional security ally since the 1957 trade agreement with Japan) and
China (the rising Asia-Pacific great power bidding for regional hegemony) continues to rack
the brains of Australian decision makers.

This is the theme of the recurring narrative that has been told amongst Australian figures in
foreign policy for an increasing length of time. Some versions of the story recommend
opposition to China’s challenge against the current “rules-based order”, and others
recommend increased engagement with China which brings a happy ending to the rising
China story.

But for ordinary Australians, who aren’t foreign policy makers or leaders, it is very easy to
want to brush aside the whole idea of the changing strategic environment surrounding
Australia, and focus instead on matters occurring within Australian borders.

After all, there are already a myriad of problems persisting domestically for regular citizens,
such as unemployment, the rising cost of living, taxation issues, and so on. Of all things, why
add concern about China’s challenge to the Asia-Pacific status quo into the mix?

Well, the reason why ordinary Australians should care about the changing security
environment outside the walls of their home nation is because the problem of China’s rise is
not so far removed from Australians’ daily lives as one may think.
In fact, the growing importance of China to Australia is something that ordinary citizens
need to be concerned about, whether they are involved in the relevant decision making
processes or not.

But why? What kind of impact could China’s rise have on the regular Australian?

The foreign policy debate about whether Australia should align with the US or shift
alignment towards China can lead to several different outcomes, all of which concern
regular Australian citizens’ income, employment status, investment opportunities and even
neighbourhood opinions.

As the 2012 White Paper on Australia in the Asian Century sets out, resisting China’s rise
risks the creation of a powerful enemy in the form of a rising China. Per Hugh White’s point
of view, if Australian leaders chooses a cooperative route in regards to China, on a state
level, this may increase opportunities for improving security whilst simultaneously reaping
economic benefits.

Now, why does it concern members of the regular community if Australian leaders choose
to align with China?

Today, China is Australia’s biggest trading partner in goods and services imports and
exports, with a growing value of $150 billion in 2015-16. Australia’s economic growth over
the last two decades has been no less than one third of the US’s, double that of Europe and
three times that of Japan, with Australia declaring in 2017 the longest stretch of continued
economic growth in modern history. Economically, Australia is already bound to China.
Economic dependence on China concerns regular Australians for several reasons.

For Australian business owners, China’s involvement in Australia’s economic sphere affects
chances of collaboration with Chinese firms and other international partner organisations
and stakeholders. On the other hand, the growth of China’s business presence in Australia
also makes its impact on local Australian businesses by increasing market competition.
For business owners, the relative monopoly of Chinese everyday goods has already made its
impact on Australian businesses, with the influx of “Made in China” labels reflecting the rise
of modern day Sino-centrism and growing Chinese economic influence.

China’s extraordinary rate of development has come hand in hand with a vast demand for
raw materials, which in turn very much complements Australia’s great natural resource
endowment. If Australian leaders continue to increase engagement with China, regular
Australians will likely reap economic benefits such as increased employment opportunities
in the export sector and increased foreign direct investment flows.

The alternative ending of the tale is if Australian leaders and foreign policy figures choose to
resist China’s rise and defend the current status quo with the US as the regional hegemon.
Broadly, on a governmental, this will result in tense Australia-China diplomatic interactions
and perhaps a level of hostility from China. A hostile China similarly will also affect the
economic situation for ordinary Australians. For starters, if Chinese decision makers choose
to implement policy limiting Chinese business activities in Australia, this will in turn affect
Australian business’s opportunities for collaboration and investment, which in turn also
affects regular individual’s income, employment and economic livelihood.

All in all, the changing security environment will certainly affect the economic livelihoods of
ordinary Australians, regardless of how Australian leaders choose to align the country in
future.

Thus, it is time for ordinary Australians to care about the impact that China’s rise and
Australia’s changing security environment will have on their lives. This is because that
impact has been, is, and will continue to be close to home.