Australia better not announce any gold holdings or we'll be liberated! Actually I think we're seeing the establishment of Oceania.
Yep, India, Indonesia and the Gulf Cooperation in the near term I believe (more - such as the EU, Brazil, South Africa, PNG - if they can). It's great to see that the Coalition are honouring their pre-election promise to fast track these bilateral FTAs (whilst still striving for multilateral FTAs). This is an area where Labor really dropped the ball. They inked the Chile FTA that had basically been negotiated prior to Rudd et al coming into power and then sat on their hands on the raft of other agreements that had already been progressed by the Coalition prior to 2008 (including the China one). I'm still surprised that the Malaysia FTA happened.
I don't know whether you have spent much time in China but it is far less totalitarian than Australia. The Chinese business people there refer to Australia as the "Slave State", they cannot understand how anyone manages to function here under the mass of rules, regulations, fines, penalties and surveillance that the average Australian lives under.
No I haven't spent time in China, so it is only the macro view that I understand, or at least feel I understand. However, I lived and worked overseas in less regulated Countries and completely agree with that perception from the Chinese business people, that Australians are slaves in the sense we are over regulated, over controlled, lied to, manipulated and completely misinformed. Anyhow, China is here and one has to welcome their occupation to keep going. Resistance is futile. Freudian slip?
Then why are so many Chinese extremely eager to get out of China and become residents of this Australian "slave state"? Maybe they see us becoming more like China and want to get in on the ground floor of the new totalitarian paradise being built here.
It seems like a very Asian thing to not stress the 'small things' as you suggest (still get your head chopped off for the big things though!). However, there are some small things worth stressing, such as not poisoning babies with sub standard formula or general unhygienic food manufacturing processes across the board. Each system has its merits of course, but for my money I would choose the nanny state Australian way over the unbridled crony capitalism overseen by non democratically elected administration that you get in China. That said, I know I plan to start learning Mandarin
Yes look at how they treat the Uighurs. But at least China seems to be chopping less dissidents heads off :/ ''China allegedly executed 2,400 people last year.... according to the human rights group Dui Hua Foundation. The findings by the U.S. group suggest China... has continued to kill people in large numbers even as Chinese leaders have reduced the number of annual executions from 12,000 in 2002.'' China's Human rights are terrible I'd prefer it if Obama properly addressed this at the G20, rather than Climate change. Source: http://www.ibtimes.com/china-human-...0-last-year-tops-global-death-penalty-1711327
An essay worth reading on the China-Australia nexus and the implications of our synergies. http://www.themonthly.com.au/blog/a...2/dragons-tail-lucky-country-after-china-boom
We have been sold out to CHINA China is demanding it be allowed to import Chinese workers into Australia to work on projects funded by Chinese investors under a proposed free trade agreement, sparking concerns within the Abbott government of a backlash, according to reports. http://www.smh.com.au/federal-polit...lia-20140414-zquve.html?stb=fb&fb_ref=Default
"...given there is no apparent and explicit clause mandating compliance with Australian standards, Chinese employers could have virtually-free rein to determine pay and conditions. In fact, recruiting in migrant workers on lesser terms than those presently prevailing could well explain the logic behind statements by Chinese corporate investors who have bought dairy farms in Victoria claiming the intention to employ Chinese workers, supposedly to increase productivity and milk yields." I wonder if they at least pay tax on their income in Australia?
