The Australia–China Youth Dialogue (ACYD) was founded in 2010 by a group of creative, boundary-pushing students who felt they could have an impact in the Australia–China space. After 13 years it continues to reflect a real interest in deepening mutual understanding and opportunity between the two countries.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s visit to China (the first PM visit in seven years) was covered extensively in the press, reinforcing the call for the stabilisation of bilateral relations. Two weeks later the Australia–China Youth Dialogue (ACYD) brought together 30 Chinese and Australian emerging leaders in a track-II diplomatic dialogue in Chengdu, China.

Delegates included journalists, educators and academics, legal experts, diplomats and elected officials, economists, and entrepreneurs,  all between the ages of 25 and 40, and with a mix of cautious excitement about the future of Australia–China relations.

The dialogue was conducted under the Chatham House rule, which was a crucial part of facilitating candid and productive exchange. Day one began with a conversation about the difficulty in defining the New World Order we find ourselves in, and keeping an open but analytically critical mind about the pressures of geopolitics.

Australia’s outgoing ambassador to China, Graham Fletcher, reflected on his posting and the new future for Australia-China relations: not a return to the optimism of pre-2017, but a more functional and stable relationship moving forward. Delegates were left with the message that there will always be difficult conversations that would need to be had with China, and Australia’s goal should be that lines of communication remain open, regardless of how challenging these conversations may be.

Ongoing individual commitments to study and work in this space reflects that although high level diplomatic dialogue has been in a deep freeze, people-to-people friendships and academic and business connections have mostly persisted.

Technology was a focus of the dialogue. Delegates discussed how China’s tech self-reliance drive is not a new phenomena; though it has taken on a feeling of urgency and insecurity in recent years. A tipping point was the realisation that global supply chains are no longer reliable after COVID-19 and US trade sanctions. A few decades ago development was the number one priority in Beijing, today it is development and security, and not necessarily in that order. China is not even close to achieving their Made in China 2025 goals. But the mother of invention is necessity and US sanctions have definitely given China necessity.

Discussions on trade and investment were largely positive and forward looking. With COP28 around the corner, delegates predicted an influx of opportunities in new and renewable energy over the next five years. However, caution shrouded conversations about trade in critical rare earth minerals like lithium, which will likely remain off limits until there is greater diversification.

Delegates debated the success of the Belt and Road Initiative, not for its country-to-country projects, but for failing to provide a new regional or global standard for investment. Unsure if the economy has bottomed out yet, Beijing is panicking. Five years ago President Xi would never have been caught posing with a grin on his face holding a US basketball jersey, but today he smiles widely.

During the dialogue delegates visited Olymvax, a Chinese bio-pharmaceutical enterprise, Cochlear, a leading Australian hearing device implant company, and Tianqi Lithium—a Chinese owned company with joint venture projects in Australia. In a panel conducted at Tianqi Lithium, the delegates discussed battery and energy storage technologies, decarbonising the mining value chain, green steel, nuclear power, and the increasing importance of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards in mining project finance.

From conversations with business owners and managers in China, delegates were given the impression that communication at senior levels of industry continued over the last seven years of diplomatic uncertainty, and are now happy to be riding the wave of positivity since the PM’s visit and the stabilisation of bilateral relations.

Delegates were given advice on pursuing business opportunities in China: it is always best to visit the potential site for partnership, conduct your own due diligence, and use good partners on the ground with whom you have fostered existing relations. No matter how technology advances, there is no alternative to face-to-face exchanges. And understanding China culturally is a key component of doing good business.

The dialogue wasn’t all professional chat. How do you foster any relationship? Find areas of commonality. Together, the Australian and Chinese delegates visited the Giant Panda Research Base, took in some face changing opera, ate famous Sichuan hot pot, and sang our hearts out to some Chinese and Western classics at karaoke. We even finished off the dialogue with a tai-chi session in the People’s Park of Chengdu, much to the amusement of the locals.

These cultural activities offer a good example of fostering valuable people-to-people connections between the two countries, regardless of the political situation, freeze or thaw.

China is too large to just have a Beijing or Shanghai perspective, so it was excellent to see the 13th ACYD held in Chengdu, Sichuan, the heart of China’s southwest. Sichuan is home to over 80 million people and is Australia’s largest trading partner in southwest China. Australia is Sichuan’s 5th largest trading partner overall.

To maintain stable relations with China, which is preferable to the Australian economy, not for profit organisations like the ACYD should continue to be celebrated and supported. Next year’s ACYD will be held in Australia, and will showcase the rich contribution of Chinese Australians to Australia’s story, and of Australians to China’s story.

China is of overwhelming importance to Australia. The best thing we can do to safeguard our future, is invest in cross-cultural youth dialogues today.

Ciara Morris was a delegate of the 13th ACYD in Chengdu, and an AIIA Euan Crone Asian Awareness Scholarship recipient. Ciara is an Editor with China Policy, a policy analysis and strategic advisory firm, and a PhD Candidate at City University Hong Kong, researching Chinese nationalism, public opinion, and foreign policy.

This article is published under a Creative Commons License and may be republished with attribution.