Last Updated:2016-11-28
On 16 November 2016, Dr. Geoff Raby delivered a speech on “The Rise of China and the Australian Public Service” to the Centre for Strategy and Governance in Canberra, Australia.
“The topic today is, quite frankly, something I had not thought much about before - or least hadn’t consciously. It was only as I started jotting down a few ideas that I realized that questions about the implications of China’s rise on government and governance in Australia had been there all the while.”
“Today, China still stands far apart from the global norms of political and social organization. Many other countries do as well, but they are mainly poor and therefore insignificant. China is a great economic power, of course, but one which shows no sign nor interest in convergence with global norms of political and social organization.”
“This then lies at the heart of the conundrum Australia finds itself in when dealing with China and in developing policies towards it. It makes the political management of the relationship particularly challenging. It was why our politicians (and we’re not alone) find it hard to find the correct balance between our interests and our values in dealing with China.”
“Through pragmatic, and realistic foreign and security policies, we need to work with China at so many levels from police and customs cooperation, to military and intelligence engagement, to confronting terrorism, to sharing experiences in public administration, to deeper cultural engagement, to developing initiatives on regional architecture, to working together on the big issues affecting the global commons, be it economic growth or environmental management, we have no choice but to work closely with China in re-fashioning the emerging international order.”
