Almost 20 years ago, China overtook Japan as Australia’s top trading partner. This Sino-focused trading relationship underpinned Australia’s record-breaking run of recession-free growth from 1991 to 2020.

However, an intensifying “China threat” narrative began to emerge in Australia around a decade ago. By 2018, the Malcolm Turnbull government in Canberra had unwisely banned Huawei from participating in the rollout of Australia’s 5G network. Hostile political accusations by Canberra against Beijing were subsequently amplified by the Scott Morrison government as the COVID-19 pandemic spread. Next came the inflammatory “red alert” series of orchestrated, wilfully alarming media reports in 2023. These claimed that Australia had to be ready to fight China within three years.

At the time, former prime minister Paul Keating said that the primary author involved had been allowed “to concoct a China-threat story aided by a group of handpicked anti-China accomplices, to produce the most egregious and provocative news presentation I have witnessed in over 50 years of active public life”. In 2026, as Australia discovered it was not at war with China, Keating dryly noted, on the three-year anniversary of the original story, that: “None of the claims have materialized.”

Notwithstanding all this mainstream media anti-China scheming, Australia has continued to run very healthy annual trade surpluses with China, year after year. According to Statista, despite the decline in certain commodity exports, Australia still has the fourth-largest trade surplus with China.

When you consider the overall report card today on the relationship, Australia’s semi-bipolar posturing with respect to China continues — almost comically at times.

Recently, the routine test-firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) into the South Pacific on July 6 — with a dummy warhead — from a Chinese nuclear submarine made headlines across Australia.

Several things are worth noting about this coverage. Most reports confirmed that Beijing provided advance warning of the test and that this notice conformed with established international protocols. But they also stressed flustered follow-on criticism. Thus, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, after acknowledging the prior notification, was widely quoted as claiming that the launch “lacked the transparency and reassurance that Pacific neighbors expect”, adding that she was concerned about “destabilizing acts”.

Long-time anti-war activist Pip Hinman, writing shortly after the test firing, stressed Australia’s selective concern about “destabilizing acts”, noting how: “Wong was not asked about the scores of nuclear-capable missiles the United States has fired into the Pacific just over the last decade”, adding that the most recent US test may have been in March this year. Hinman also highlighted the (biennial) 2026 Rim of the Pacific maritime war exercises — the world’s largest — led by the US, involving many countries, including Australia and Israel.

All of this relevant context is, unsurprisingly, almost completely absent from mainstream Australian reporting of the recent Chinese ICBM test-firing. And forget about finding any reflection on the constant US — and regular Australian — military transits through the Taiwan Strait every year.

But it gets better.

Angus Taylor was elected as leader of the Australian Liberal Party — and thus leader of the official opposition — in February. This means he is set to become the prime minister if he succeeds in the next Australian federal election, expected by May 2028.

As we look back over the last 40-plus years, it is clear that the rise of China has been exceptionally good for Australia, while Australia has played a continuing role that has been conspicuously positive for China

Two days after the Chinese ICBM test firing, Telstra, Australia’s largest telecommunications company, suffered a massive service outage that disrupted mobile, data, and payment systems, a rail network, and emergency services. The problem was triggered by a software defect and certain synchronization failures, according to Telstra. However, at a news conference soon after, Taylor questioned whether there might be any connection between the Chinese missile test on July 6 and the major Telstra outage two days later, according to The Guardian. Taylor presented zero evidence to support this speculation. Here was Australia’s potential next prime minister weirdly wondering aloud about this possibility — like a mischief-making adolescent — presumably hoping to score points by ramping up a new aspect of the “China threat” narrative. This was an extraordinary intervention. One that provides a frank indication of the acumen of a new, key political leader in Australia once it is time to discuss China.

Fortunately, when you move beyond this zone of media-amplified, reckless political maneuvering, Australian decision-making on China is more pragmatic and positive.

Drive.com, one of Australia’s leading automotive commentary websites, lately reported that: “Japanese cars have dominated Australian sales for decades, but now Chinese-built cars have outsold Japanese for five consecutive months.” Drive.com observed that Japan’s Toyota remained Australia’s leading brand — but only just, “with BYD selling a mere 243 fewer vehicles than Toyota in June”. Popular Chinese brands, apart from BYD, include MG, Chery and Great Wall Motor, while nominally Japanese and American electric vehicle models selling in Australia (from Mazda and Tesla) are also sourced from China.

In June, the very large BYD Zhengzhou roll-on/roll-off delivery vessel arrived in Melbourne carrying around 5,000 vehicles, with further deliveries planned.

Once we move beyond the retail level to the macro level, intelligent Australian engagement with China is also evident.

China Railway Engineering Equipment Group (CREG) is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of tunnel boring machines (TBMs). The company’s TBMs have played a crucial role in creating Sydney’s new Western Harbour Tunnel. Meanwhile, four Chinese TBMs are currently working on 26 kilometers of tunnels needed for Melbourne’s major Suburban Rail Loop project.

The Snowy 2.0 project has been described as Australia’s largest renewable energy project, functioning as a “colossal water battery”. The primary German TBM manufacturer, Herrenknecht, has a key factory in Guangzhou. This facility and CREG have jointly delivered a series of TBMs to undertake the massive aspects of this monumental venture.

As we look back over the last 40-plus years, it is clear that the rise of China has been exceptionally good for Australia, while Australia has played a continuing role that has been conspicuously positive for China. Political posturing, especially from Canberra (often at Washington’s urging), has at times caused this vital relationship to wobble. But the common sense driving the broader relationship has coped well with recurring spasms of negative political maneuvering.

Fortunately, China has consistently embraced, over an extended period, what commentator Mohamed Sabreen recently described as “a positive vision (of the future) based on cooperation, development and mutual partnership”. Australia’s actions strongly suggest a similarly shaped, affirmative outlook on what might be achieved, globally, during this new century.

As it happens, Professor Jeffrey Sachs lately reminded us that the founding principles of the United States embodied a very similar ethos stressing: “a coherent vision of how a nation should conduct itself in the world: with reason, with restraint and with the awareness that the reasoned opinions of mankind are the proper measure of legitimacy.”

The author was previously a professor of law at the University of Hong Kong and Monash University in Australia.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.