Parliament House, Canberra
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS OMITTED
In a formal sense, we gather as friends to acknowledge a single diplomatic event in the life of our two countries.
On December 21, 1972, in Paris, the Governments of Australia and China signed a joint communiqué.
A brief document - only five paragraphs - recognising One China and marking the beginning of a lasting friendship.
Yet in these diplomatic phrases lay a great act of daring.
For two decades, the Government of Australia set its face against recognition.
Yet one man stood firm all his political life - Gough Whitlam.
Gough went to China in 1971 not because it was easy, but because it was right.
The war in Vietnam was still raging and the weight of domestic opinion was against him.
But there was a certain grandeur in the courage of his journey.
Stephen Fitzgerald wrote recently that:
“There is nothing in Australian foreign policy history to compare with that China visit. ... It was an expedition of great bravado and exposure but great political judgment and luck.”
So in this Great Hall of the Australian people, we recall a meeting in another Great Hall of another great people, four decades ago.
It was a modest group - just six Australian members - but its impact on our foreign policy was profound.
The meeting with Premier Zhou Enlai was simple and gracious.
Two statesmen ready to embrace reality and open the doors upon an unlikely friendship.
Whitlam made that journey because he understood China was not a country to be feared.
But a nation seeking to right historic wrongs and engage more widely with the world.
For Australia, engagement with China reflected our more confident voice on the world stage.
Like the rest of the Whitlam venture, it was a time of optimism and new beginnings.
Four decades on, let us never forget how high were the stakes or how great was the prize being sought.
So tonight we honour “those who were there”.
We remember those who shared in the drama of those days but are no longer with us: Margaret Whitlam, Alan Renouf, Tom Burns, Mick Young.
Gough Whitlam cannot be with us in person but he is so very much in our hearts tonight.
So are Graham Freudenberg and Rex Patterson.
With us, though, are others who made this anniversary possible, including Stephen Fitzgerald, who became our first Ambassador to the People's Republic.
The extraordinary evolution of our relationship with China stands on the shoulders of this generation.
Trade levels increased a thousandfold.
Great Chinese cities built with Australian iron ore.
Growing investment.
The tens of thousands of Chinese students and tourists visiting every year.
Today, we welcome China's rise into the rules-based global system.
We value deep relationships with China at every level.
And we understand that with such different cultures and histories, we will occasionally disagree on matters of policy and principle, yet will always express any disagreement with a sense of proportion and respect.
If this is a night for celebrating a remarkable past, it is also a night to look to the future.
For many years now, trade and people-to-people links have formed the bulk of our relationship.
As we approach the half-century of our diplomatic ties in the years to come, we must craft a new and deeper phase of our relationship.
That will mean stronger government-to-government links.
Stronger bilateral architecture to better coordinate the breadth of our modern relationship, including on foreign and strategic issues, the global economy and our trade and investment ties.
A comprehensive country strategy that gives greater clarity and ambition for our shared objectives for our relationship.
And a stronger diplomatic footprint in China, including a new consulate-general in Chengdu, which I announced earlier this year.
And my Government's commitment to a further post to follow later, in Shenyang.
I am the seventh Australian Prime Minister to have visited China since Gough Whitlam became the first in 1973.
And I hope to have the great honour to return next year as China's new leadership moves into place.
Much has changed in both our countries since our diplomatic relations began.
The Australia of 1972 was an insular land.
Asia was unfamiliar to many Australians, and China more so.
Today one in ten Australians speaks an Asian language and China is the largest source of migration to our shores.
The reality of living in Asia is more present to us than ever before.
China can look back on decades of reform and truly say that her people have never been more prosperous.
The land of Mao suits and bicycles has become the nation of shining cities and high-speed train networks.
When we see poverty halved and high school enrolments doubled, we are admiring of your success.
When we see China lead the world in renewable energy, we are confident in your future.
Forty years on, the work begun with such high hopes endures.
Our partnership is now of deep strategic importance to us both.
Our peoples are partners: working together still.
Creating wealth together.
Working for peace together.
And sharing a bright future together.
So tonight I pay tribute to a nation esteemed by Australia and honoured in the world.
Our true and enduring friend: The People's Republic of China.