UTS:ACRI - COVID-19 and the Australia-China relationship’s zombie economic idea – Report launch

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Beyond challenges in the realm of public health, the COVID-19 pandemic has also caused a wave of disruption for economies the world over, including Australia and its largest trading partner, the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Long lurking in the shadow of the bilateral economic relationship between Australia and the PRC is a zombie economic idea – an economic idea that should have been laid to rest by an accumulation of facts and evidence, but which continues to stalk public policy debate: that Australian entities engaging heavily with the PRC market are irresponsible, and that at a national level, Australia is too dependent on the PRC. This is often accompanied by calls for the Australian government to force a diversification of Australia’s economic relationships. The COVID-19 pandemic has seen this zombie economic idea injected with a fresh dose of un-life.

How exposed is Australia’s economy to the PRC? What is behind this exposure? Is this level of exposure serving Australia’s national interest? Should Australian entities continue to engage extensively with the PRC? What are the prospects for greater diversification of Australia’s economic relationships in the near future?

The Australia-China Relations Institute at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS:ACRI) launched a report tackling these questions and more in a webinar featuring lead author, Professor James Laurenceson, Director of UTS:ACRI, in conversation with Rowan Callick OBE, author of 'Party Time: Who runs China and how', former China correspondent for The Australian, and UTS:ACRI Advisory Board member. An audience Q&A followed.

The report ‘COVID-19 and the Australia-China relationship’s zombie economic idea’ by James Laurenceson and Michael Zhou is available here: https://www.australiachinarelations.org/content/covid-19-and-australia-china-relationship%E2%80%99s-zombie-economic-idea.

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