Welcoming the "Asian Century" and closer ties with China as trading partner

Australian's Prime Minister Julia Gillard is welcoming the "Asian Century" and closer ties with China as trading partner.  The Asian century is rich and progressive and Australia stands to be greatly affected by this era of rapid change whether the region ends up in prosperity and or collapses in disarray. 

The good news is that the Australian Government has a plan for dealing with the opportunities and challenges of finding itself close to the world’s new centre of economic power by launching an ambitious policy white paper titled "Australia in the Asian Century" Australia is the only nation to occupy a whole continent, yet that land, while rich in mineral wealth, is largely arid and can sustain only a small population.

It is a developed economy and a huge supplier of resources. Its chief trade and investment relationships are all in Asia, or more precisely the wider Indo-Pacific including the United States. Australia has Western cultural origins and alignments which sometimes continue to hamper its image in Asia. It relies increasingly on Asian immigration, especially now from China and India, to ensure its economy and society keep thriving.

Over a quarter of Australians were born overseas, making this country truly a nation of immigrants, much more so proportionately than the United States. Australia increasingly – and proudly – wears an Asian face. It has vast security interests in its territory and maritime zones, yet only a small population – 23 million – and an advanced but small defence force. It is a U.S. ally yet has close economic and increasingly societal ties with China, its top trading partner. 

The new white paper is, if nothing else, a wake-up call. It correctly urges Australia to get its own house in order as a first step towards flourishing in the Asian era, including through a competitive and diversified economy, education, innovation, social cohesion, infrastructure, environmental management, security and diplomacy. China's interest and continuing investment in Australia's property sector has continued to gain pace over the past few years and has been welcomed by Australians in general.