Australia’s China Odyssey
From euphoria to fear
-
-
5.0 • 1 Rating
-
-
- $14.99
-
- $14.99
Publisher Description
Australia’s relationship with China is one of the dominant geopolitical stories of our times. The need to understand the tectonic forces of history moving beneath the surface of these critical events has never been more pressing.
In Australia’s China Odyssey, acclaimed historian James Curran explores this crucial and complicated relationship through the prism of the prime ministers who have handled relations with Beijing since Whitlam in 1972.
Much recent analysis assumes that managing China has been difficult only since 2017. Yet this relationship has always been difficult. And while there have been moments of euphoria and uplift – moments, even, when some believed Australia could have a ‘special relationship’ with China – high anxiety and fear have often trailed closely in that slipstream. This book provides historical ballast to a debate so often mired in the parochialism of the present.
The task of adjusting to China’s rise is the greatest challenge Australian diplomacy has faced since Japan’s revisionist attempts to remake East Asia in the 1930s. Ultimately, while China under Xi Jinping has indeed changed, and while there is justifiable alarm concerning the course of Beijing’s aggressive and authoritarian nationalism, Australia’s China Odyssey asks whether we have the courage to look in the mirror and see what this debate also reveals about Australia. Reflecting on the 2022 change in government in his postscript, Curran tackles an even harder question: the future of Australia’s China policy.
‘A first-class historian who knows a good story, Curran raises the titillating question of today: Where will this lead Australia?’ — Jane Perlez
‘Absorbing and compelling...written with flair and balance.’ — Peter Varghese
‘A sharp analysis of contemporary events interwoven with a deep sense of the historical threads.’ — Dennis Richardson
‘Yes, you must read this.’ — John McCarthy
Customer Reviews
How we got where we are
4.5 stars
Author
Australian. Professor of History at Uni of Sydney, specialising in Australian and American foreign relations. Analyst at the Office of National Assessments before he became an academic.
Precis
Australia showed more interest in China in the 50 years before Federation than the 50 years after it, thanks to the White Australia policy and a couple of world wars. Post-WW2, the fear of communism that divided Labor and helped Menzies get re-elected dominated thinking, although Menzies was smart enough to recognise a potentially lucrative trade partner. The big “opening up” under Whitlam was not as big, or as keenly embraced by the Chinese, as Whitlam and his many disciples would have us believe. The close trade ties with China fostered by Hawke and Keating in the 1980s recovered in the 1990s after being shaken by the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. (Bob cried in parliament, remember?) Howard did all right with China too, although iron ore played a big role and he was up against (relative) softies rather than a hard liner like Xi. Then we got the mandarin-speaking Rudd, which should have been good, and might have been if Kevin07 hadn’t lectured the Chinese in their own language about their dodgy ideas on human rights. Nice one, Kev. Things have gone pretty much downhill since then.
Writing
Clear, well-researched prose that draws on original material and makes extensive use of contemporaneous quotes. A tad turgid at times, but eminently readable overall for a non-expert.
Bottom line
How we got where we are. How to get back, not so much.
Footnote
According to the 2022 Lowy Institute poll, 80 percent of Aussies have negative feelings about China, which is a big turnaround since 2018. I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest that 1.4 billion Chinese couldn’t give a stuff about what we think. Whether that’s because Chairman Xi told them so is irrelevant in the real world as they like to call it in advertisements for certain of our universities which may or may not have Confucius institutes attached.