Australian bias against Chinese investment

If some in Australia still insist their new investment rules conform to international practice, the following information provided by Laurenceso in his article could shut them up: The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development says the openness of Australia's regulatory regime for foreign investment ranks 29th out of 34 member countries.

The Australian expert ascribes the new policy to xenophobia which seems pretty much the case as recently we have heard sinophobe Australians lashing out at Chinese for pushing up real estate prices in big Australian cities or buying up Australia's infant formula.

In a recent survey on global economies' reliance on China conducted by Forbes, Australia sits on top of the list. The country owes much of its economic growth to China's huge demand for Australia resources in recent years.

In the past 43 years, bilateral trade has expanded 1,500-fold. For every three Australian dollars earned from exports, one dollar comes from China. The only reasonable choice for both sides is to continue to paint such a rosy picture.

The signing of China-Australia Free Trade Agreement in June promises to bring multiple benefits to bilateral trade as well as the two economies. With China opting for consumption-driven growth, the bilateral FTA agreement offers huge opportunities for Chinese companies to invest in Australia, and the agriculture sector ought to be a new growth point for bilateral trade.

Australia is seeking to transition from mining-led growth, but without foreign investment in agriculture and infrastructure this will prove more difficult.

Against such a backdrop, Australia's new regulatory regime is tantamount to putting an abrupt brake on the free trade agreement, which will not serve the interests of either side.

Those who harbor biased views towards Chinese investment in Australia should be told that they are undercutting both countries' efforts to deepen reciprocal cooperation. Canberra should not allow domestic xenophobic political forces to take trade ties hostage and concentrate on the big picture with its largest trading partner.

The author is a senior writer with China Daily. wanghui@chinadaily.com.cn