China trade puts money in Australian pockets, study finds

Name: China and Australia hold high-level talks after 3-year break
Uploaded: 2023-10-18T20:30:09.000Z
Duration: 3 min 33 s
Description: China and Australia hold high-level talks after 3-year break

A study commissioned by an Australia-China business organisation shows trade with China has added to Australians’ incomes and kept cost of living down

Preliminary release of data adds weight to arguments for sustained engagement as relations back on upswing

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A display of Australian wines and other products at the China International Import Expo in Shanghai. A new study has shown trade with China has provided direct benefits to Australian households. Photo: AP

Jiang Chuqin

Published: 4:30am, 19 Oct 2023Updated: 12:48pm, 19 Oct 2023

As a direct result of trade between China and Australia, households in the latter country have seen several benefits, according to a study released on Wednesday.

The findings come at a time of warming relations between the two countries and provide fresh support to the case for economic engagement.

Bilateral trade helped each Australian household earn an extra A$2,500 (US$1,589) in the last financial year, equal to 4.5 per cent of disposable income per person. The analysis was published as part of a preliminary release of research administered by the Perth-based Curtin University’s Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre.

The study was commissioned by the Australia China Business Council, a business organisation dedicated to the bilateral economic relationship. The full report is scheduled to be launched in early 2024.

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China and Australia hold high-level talks after 3-year break

“Australia-China trade offers measurable benefits to the average Australian household through the channels of increased employment, higher income and lower prices,” said Alan Duncan, the report’s author and director of the centre.

The Post reported in early October that three consecutive governments of Australia conducted internal studies on the feasibility of decoupling from China since 2015, but all said it was impossible.

Curtin University’s research found households in Western Australia benefit most, with an annual A$8,500 in additional income mostly driven by Chinese investment in the resources sector.