Australian Prime Minister John Howard and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao opened a liquefied natural gas project in Guangdong Province on June 28th. This 29.1-billion-Yuan project is an important Chinese-Australian cooperation which brings Sino-Australian trade and economic ties to a new level.

Both governments say Sino-Australian relations are "at their best ever", and have developed fast and comprehensively.

In terms of politics, Chinese and Australian high-ranking officials maintain a close relationship. In recent years, Chinese leaders including President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao have visited Australia. Australian Prime Minister Howard has been to China six times since he took office. Their relations are friendly and harmonious. Neither country is regarded as a threat by the other so they concentrate on the positive side of their bilateral relations. Australia considers China an important friend and believes that China's development benefits not only itself but the whole world.

Earlier this year, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer made it clear that Australia does not consider China's growing power a threat before holding security talks with U.S. and Japanese foreign ministers. During Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Australia in April this year, the two countries signed an agreement for the peaceful use of nuclear energy and another for the trade of nuclear material. Australia has the world's largest reserves of uranium, a resource currently in demand in China, where it is used to construct nuclear power plants. So these two countries are complementary, economically speaking. The misuse of nuclear energy is a possibility anywhere in the world, so the Sino-Australian agreement reflects great strategic mutual trust between the two nations.

Sino-Australian bilateral trade increases by up to 30 percent annually and reached US$27.3 billion in 2005. China has become Australia's second-largest trade partner and export market. Their economies are complementary. China has an enormous demand for Australia's iron ore, uranium, natural gas, agriculture and animal products. Australia needs Chinese labor and Chinese-made products. Their economies mesh perfectly. Currently China and Australia are trying to negotiate a free trade agreement. If they can achieve this in 2007, it will push Sino-Australian economic and strategic interaction to a new level. As the first free trade agreement between a developed country and China, it would be a wonderful example to the rest of the world.

China and Australia also have common interests in other fields. Chinese are the largest group of foreign students studying in Australia. In 2005, the number of registered Chinese students in Australia totaled more than 80 thousand. More tourists come to Australia from China that any other country in Asia. It sends the fourth highest number of tourists to Australia in the world. In 2005, about 0.3 million Chinese visitors went to Australia and the number is still increasing. Sino-Australian culture exchanges are growing. As part of the "Experience China 2006" campaign, a series of Chinese cultural exhibitions and exchange activities will be held around Australia.

Of course, there is some friction between China and Australia. The markup on iron ore is currently the focus of negotiation between factories in the two countries. Now that China and Australia have a good relationship, this issue should be resolved fairly, with the price of iron ore allowed to be set by the market.

The Sino-Australian relationship is developing continuously, steadily and healthily. It is a sign of the maturity of their bilateral relationship that the two countries are developing mutually beneficial and comprehensive relations in twenty-first century. The China-Australia relationship is an example of peaceful, mutually beneficial cooperation between countries with different social systems and cultural backgrounds.

By People's Daily Online