Australia is China's sixth largest trading partner; it is China's fifth biggest supplier of imports and its tenth biggest customer for exports. Twenty-five per cent of Australia's manufactured imports come from China; 13% of its exports are thermal coal to China.
China is Australia's largest two-way trading partner in goods and services, accounting for nearly one third (32.2 per cent) of our trade with the world. Two-way trade with China grew 6.3 per cent in 2020-21, totalling $267 billion (Australia's global two-way trade declined 5.0 per cent during this period).
They attracted exports worth A$472 billion in 2021–22. This represents almost 80% of Australia's total exports of goods and services. China currently receives around 30% of our goods and services exports. More than 40% of our exports go to Japan, Korea, India, the US, Taiwan and Singapore.
The worth of financial assets would fall by one fifth on average, and by one quarter in Australia. An end to trade across a bamboo curtain would hit Australia, since we export more resources to China than anywhere else and we import more goods from China than anywhere else.
Australia is a small open economy heavily reliant on trade for its economic well-being.
The data on bilateral trade reveals the importance of the China relationship. Despite trade restrictions on selected products, 35 to 40% of Australian exports go to China, and 20% of imports come from China. Chinese nationals normally constitute the largest number of international students and inbound tourists.
Australia is China's sixth largest trading partner; it is China's fifth biggest supplier of imports and its tenth biggest customer for exports. Twenty-five per cent of Australia's manufactured imports come from China; 13% of its exports are thermal coal to China. A two-way investment relationship is also developing.
One of the main reasons why we buy so many products that have been produced or supplied from China, is because they can offer a lower manufacturing cost.
In 2021, Australia exported $138B to China. The main products exported from Australia to China were Iron Ore ($95.7B), Petroleum Gas ($15B), and Gold ($5.86B). During the last 26 years the exports of Australia to China have increased at an annualized rate of 17.2%, from $2.24B in 1995 to $138B in 2021.
Most of our electricity is produced from burning black and brown coal at large power stations. Natural gas is the third highest energy source in Australia (after oil and coal).
Australia has strong competitive advantages in its skills, research base, political and legal institutions and high standards of living. Since 1992, the growth of the Australian economy has continued to outpace every other major developed economy.
Tokyo | China will boost domestic iron ore production by 30 per cent, significantly ramp up investments in overseas mines and strengthen scrap steel recycling under a plan designed to break Beijing's dependency on Australia's most valuable commodity export.
Currently, 14.1 per cent of Australia's agricultural land is foreign owned, and China is the largest foreign owner (2.3 per cent). China is also the third-largest stakeholder of Australian water behind Canada and the US, owning 604 gigalitres or 1.5 per cent of the total Australian water entitlement.
Australia has a GDP per capita of $48,700 as of 2020, while in China, the GDP per capita is $16,400 as of 2020.
Australia's largest private landowners, pastoralists Donny and Colleen Costello, have expanded their cattle station empire to more than 9.2 million hectares, after acquiring Mount Doreen Station in the Northern Territory for $70 million.
Japanese Investors
Japan has been the single largest investor in Australian fixed income by country, with a large pool of savings, including pension funds and life insurance assets.
When measured by average wealth, Australia is fourth behind Switzerland, the United States and Hong Kong, indicating wealth is more evenly distributed in Australia. Australia's exalted position is a luxury that can only make its population grateful for their position in an often-troubled world.
This data suggests that if U.S. hypothetically stops buying Chinese goods, China's export will suffer a 18% loss, which accounts for 18%*20% = 3.6% of China's GDP. It is unlikely a 3.6% loss in GDP will collapse the Chinese economy.
In addition to its low labor costs, China has become known as "the world's factory" because of its strong business ecosystem, lack of regulatory compliance, low taxes and duties, and competitive currency practices.
It is because Chinese markets have access to all the resources required to produce counterfeits due to their high production rate, low-cost labour, and adaptive technologies setup by significant brands since the reform of China's economy in 1978.
China's coal imports from Australia were 2.73 million tonnes, with 2.13 million assessed as the thermal grade used in power plants, with 417,576 tonnes being coking coal used to make steel.
From Japan, Australia imports vehicles, refined petroleum, machinery and tyres. More recently, Japanese investment into Australia has been expanding into renewables; financial services; infrastructure; information and communications technology; property; food; and agribusiness.