Last Updated:2020-09-21

"A revisionist history now argues that the past 40 years of engagement with Chinawas a failure. China has developed economically beyond anyone's expectations when Deng Xiaoping's reforms began in 1979, although in per capita terms it is stilla relatively poor country. Rather than converging towards the norms of politicaland social organisation prevalent in the West, China has remained an authoritarianstate that stands far apart from Western norms. Moreover, its growing wealth,military and technological might have made it a threat to the international order." "Beyond having the second-largest economy in the world today in nominal dollarterms and the largest in purchasing power parity terms, China has become thedominant power in east Asia,something Canberra has trouble recognising. It hasexpanded and modernised its military as its economy has grown, to a point whereit can defend its coastal waters, including Taiwan, from US incursion. It hasestablished effective control over several reefs and islets in the South China Sea,albeit of doubtful legality, and is a serial abuser of human rights, particularly in itsborder areas of Xinjiang and Tibet." "As part of this, China was to be encouraged and assisted in moving from centrallyplanned allocation of resources to more market allocation so as to increase efficiency and hence economic growth. The faster China could grow, the greaterthe potential economic benefit for Australia would be, provided Australia itselfwould undertake the necessary reforms needed to make itself an efficient andhence competitive supplier to the Chinese market. In this way, Australia's engagement with China also helped to push necessary policy reforms in Australia,again to the benefit of Australia's living standards. Note the prevalence of self-interest over ideology." "Viewed from today, each of the objectives of Australian policymakers - free of ideological blinkers - when they decided to engage China, have been achieved andwell beyond what might reasonably have been expected in the 1980s." "Far from buyer's remorse, it has proved to be an outstandingly successful investment for Australia. China's becoming like us was never part of the bargain.That China would contribute substantially to Australia's prosperity and securitywas, and that is still the case today."