Since 2017, the investment of Chinese companies in Australia has begun to decline year by year. There are many reasons for this. But looking back at this time point, it was exactly when Australia began to follow behind the beautiful country and criticize us verbally and in writing.
At a time when Chinese enterprises are committed to "going global", why do they avoid "Tu'ao" alone? Is it because we are too ruthless, or because the other party does not give them a chance? Regarding this issue, some Chinese companies that have withdrawn said : There is no need to hang on one number. In other words, we can also understand it as "I don't leave you here, I have my own place to stay".
In 2008, the trade volume between China and Australia was 3.6 billion Australian dollars. However, by 2018, this number had become more than 40 billion Australian dollars. In August 2019, Australia's Minister of Tourism, Investment and Trade, Simon Birmingham, expressed his hope to strengthen cooperation with my country. In the current tense trade atmosphere, both parties can work together to contribute. But at the end of this year, the epidemic emerged, and the number of confirmed cases around the world continued to rise. The United States, the world's most powerful country, was also overwhelmed by the virus storm, and targeted us for tracing the origin of the virus.
At this time, Tuao, who was willing to serve as a pawn, staged a "dog-licking" behavior and criticized us, a major customer, many times. Our repeated understandings only resulted in intensified verbal slander, skyrocketing iron ore prices, and repeated "white-eyed wolf" behavior, which completely chilled our hearts.
Under such circumstances, we could not find a reason to continue cooperation, so we stopped importing Australian beef. Many people canceled their plans to study in Australia. Those wealthy Chinese who like to buy real estate in Australia also terminated their investments. By the way, Chinese companies that originally planned to invest in Australia have also turned to looking for new partners.
Australia has a vast territory, rich mineral resources, and a surplus of agricultural products. Combined with our situation, the two parties are undoubtedly extremely suitable partners. However, contrary to expectations, no one can wake up a person who is pretending to sleep.
Under the influence of various factors, the total investment by Chinese companies in Australia has begun to decline since 2017. Last year, the total investment by Chinese companies in Australia dropped to AU$778 million, while the figure was still AU$2.5 billion the year before. Regardless of whether Australia's "new team" will change, it is clear that the matter is a foregone conclusion. It may not be easy for Chinese companies to resume cooperation in Australia in the future.
In an era when Chinese companies are rushing to invest in Australia, a single project may exceed 2.5 billion Australian dollars. In addition to Australia, the United States is also on this list. About a quarter of the funds originally intended to be invested in the United States and Australia have chosen to invest in other countries. The large number of Chinese companies going abroad is not only because Australia is "not a son of man", but also because of the negative consequences of excessive censorship.
Many Chinese companies said that in the past few years, Australia has become more and more strict in its review of Chinese companies, and this kind of strictness is by no means normal. And this obviously unfair treatment is only aimed at Chinese enterprises. On the one hand, there is constant denigration of our country, and on the other hand, the investment environment is really poor. Under such circumstances, continuing to invest in Australia is tantamount to laying a "hidden mine" that may explode at any time. .
At a time when Chinese companies’ investment in Australia is declining, this directly reflects a problem. Cooperation with Australia is important to us, but it is by no means necessary. Since the other party has no intention of cooperating, we don’t have to hang ourselves from a tree. The best choice is to seek new partners. But looking at Australia, if it loses the Chinese market, will it not have much impact on them?
Before 2018, cooperation between China and Australia was very close. Australia’s mineral resources and agricultural products were exported to my country in large quantities. One-third of tourism revenue came from Chinese tourists, followed by the international student business, one of the three major economic pillar industries, and Chinese students Also a major contributor.
Take the coal industry as an example. Australia is the world’s largest coal exporter, and my country is the second largest importer of Australian coal.In 2019, the coal trade volume between the two countries reached 63.8 billion yuan. However, starting from 2020, my country has stopped importing Australian coal. And the inventory and cash left before have been consumed.
On this occasion, Australia has expressed its willingness to continue exporting, and some people are optimistic about this. They believe that since my country is paying attention to low-grade coal from Russia and Mongolia, it undoubtedly proves that we still need high-grade coal from Australia. This is true, we need high-quality coal, but we can survive the two days of suspension of imports of Australian coal. Obviously, our country's market has adapted to the import of Australian coal.
The reason why we have the confidence to suspend the import of Australian coal is because we have already made preparations. On the one hand, we will increase the gross domestic coal production, and secondly, in addition to increasing coal imports from Mongolia and Indonesia , we are also looking for new coal exporting countries such as South Africa, Russia, and Colombia. Please note the word "etc." here, which means we have a wide range of choices.
It is foreseeable that, unless special factors occur, or the relationship does not recover, the possibility of my country's power plants and steel plants purchasing Australian coal is very small. After losing the Chinese coal market, Australia is expected to lose 15 billion Australian dollars every year. And as our country implements the concept of " carbon neutral ", the use of coal will only become less and less in the future.
Just recently, the Australian Trade Minister made a public announcement, requesting communication with us, and asked that these two words be highlighted. Secondly, the Australian Defense Minister also said that my country's economic development is inseparable from Australia. Objectively speaking, it won't be long before China-Australia trade will return to its original state. However, is this really the case? What do you friends think of this matter?
