by Will Koulouris
SYDNEY, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Australian government and business leaders have expressed optimistism about China's future development and pledged concerted efforts to tap on all possible opportunities for trade with China.
"China" is the word on everyone's lips as dignitaries, experts and international economists gather in Sydnesy Thursday for a business forum to discuss the 2017 plan for Australian business both domestically and globally.
In a keynote address, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull spoke about Australia's need to ensure all possible opportunities for trade with China are capitalized on, with Australia being located in the fastest growing region in the world.
"In the 21st century, geographic proximity is less of an edge all the time, and in any event, London and Paris are closer to Beijing than Sydney and Melbourne," Turnbull said.
"Do we sit on our hands and let other countries take these opportunities?"
"Or, will we take charge of our economic destiny and tap into the dynamic economies of the region for jobs and investment?"
In order for Australia to navigate the Asian market, a solid understanding of the changing nature of the Chinese economy is required, with the shift to a supply-side economic model driven by domestic consumption being a key aspect of China's economic strategy moving forward, experts at the forum pointed out.
Former Goldman Sachs chief executive, and coiner of the term "BRIC" (Brazil, Russia, China and India) Jim O'Neill , who also attended the two-day event, said that one of the key issues to consider in relation to China's direction was that of consumption.
"For many years since 2008, the key issue going forward for this decade is how much China consumes relative to what it produces," O'Neill said.
O'Neill believes that the truest indicator of China's success may not be the GDP growth rate, but rather, domestic consumption of produced goods and services.
"In terms of the interaction of China with the rest of the world, it's this that really matters," O'Neill said.
The renowned economist said that the metrics that others have used to gauge the progress that China has made are built on what he sees as fallacious arguments.
"China is the only one of the four BRIC countries that has grown more than I assumed it would at the start of the decade," O'Neill said."
"Over the past few years, I watched with amusement a lot of people talking about the supposed collapse of the Chinese economy."
Analysts have long speculated that the housing market in China is set to take a tumble, with concerns that prices are overinflated in some of the major cities.
But O'Neill disagrees, and says he is "very suspicious" of any insinuations that there is a real estate bubble within China, and rather, the growth that is being achieved serves as a means for causation of the higher prices across the board.
"They (China) are doing much better as they adjust to a new stage of growth, the new China, than people are focused on," O'Neill said.
The former Australian Ambassador to China, Geoff Raby also attended the event, and agreed that there are many opportunities for Australia to take advantage of the growth that is present in China, and believes China will achieve even further economic success through its consumption driven economic strategy.
Raby also doubled down on the other statements made by O'Neill, and said that any talk of a "China crisis" was just that, talk.
"I've been looking at the Chinese economy for 30 years. I'm a China optimist...I'm running with the bulls and for the last 30 years I haven't been wrong," Raby said.
The changing economy of China is driven primarily by rapid growth in per capita income, Raby said, with per capita GDP sitting at "something like 8,300 U.S. dollars", an amount he calls "astonishing".
It is this steady income growth that is driving the burgeoning middle class in China, and creating the demand for goods and services that can be taken advantage of by Australian firms looking to not only sell their premium goods and services, but create partnerships for the long term in what is set to become the world's largest economy, China.
The former ambassador was also insistent that Australia needs to change its diplomatic structure, become more independent of the United States, and look at the possibility of joining the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), with hopes this will improve outcomes for Australian business.
"It gives us a louder voice in China. That gives us real weight in China," Raby said. "We need to be activists."
