China and Australia still need each other, and their interest in clean energy may just clear the slate
- Although their political rivalry and trade quarrels persist, a decoupling between Canberra and Beijing is ‘neither practical nor realistic’
- While there might not be a ‘silver bullet’ to reset relations, they share a common goal of curbing climate change while guarding against energy crises
In the burgeoning realm of new and renewable energy, China and Australia seem “destined” for greater collaboration, as each has critical resources that the other needs in their long-term plans to curb carbon emissions and ensure a sustainable supply of power for the people.
And such mutually beneficial exchanges may be just the catalyst needed to get their rocky relations back on sound footing after a prolonged stretch of bilateral bickering and finger-pointing.
At least that is the hope of Liu Ming, who has a bit of skin in the game as CEO of Melbourne-based Dimer Technology, which specialises in low-carbon gas processing and renewable-energy development.
Australia cannot meet its carbon-reduction targets without technology and engineering resources from overseas, including from China, while Australia also has essential materials that will help both countries develop and expand their relevant capabilities and capacity in new energy, he contends.
“We have seen the dynamically growing bilateral investment and trade in this field,” Liu said. “This kind of growth can help improve and stabilise the bilateral political relationship.”
The mega trade partners have not seen eye-to-eye for more than two-and-a-half years, dating back to the early days of the pandemic when Canberra called for an investigation into the origin of the coronavirus, provoking the ire of Beijing.
What followed – sanctions, tit-for-tat tariffs and no shortage of nationalistic sentiment – dragged their ties to an all-time low, with little real effort seen by either side to make amends.