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PRIME MINISTER
E. O. E. PROOF ONLY
TRANSCRIPT OF PRESS CONFERENCE WITH CHINESE JOURNALISTS
19 SEPTEMBER 1984
HAWKE: We are here today on the occasion of the inauguration
of the air services between our tvo countriLes.
This is more than just a mere formal expression to you
because since the visit of Premier Zhao in April 1983 and my
visit to your country in February this year, there has been
a quite dramatic strengthening and deepening of relationships
with our countries and this inauguration of direct air services
is a very definite manifestation of that development and indeed
a facilitation of it.
I don't want to exhaustively list all those developments to
which I refer, but let me say that we ar~ e particularly pleased
with the very rapid progress which has been made in the
integration plans for our iron and steel industries.
That was formalised with the signing of the economic and technical
/-co-operation agreement during Vice Minister Lin Hua's visit here
last month.
There have been many other elements of this integration plan
both in enhanced export of some of our raw materials, the
arrangements for technical co-operation in your country in the
development of your steel industry and particularly the agreemen.' t
that has been signed to conduct the feasibility studies into a
joint venture iron ore mine between us in the Pilbarra.
In the important area of agriculture we were also pleased that
earlier this year an agriculture co-operation agreement was
signed when my Minister for Agriculture was in China. I believe
that will lead to important co-operation between us in that area.
In the area of trade generally we have formulated the China
Action Plan. The purpose of that is to try and assist the
growth of your exports to Australia.
And, as I said earlier, we are also developing our relations
beyond the economic area in the fields of science and sports
and culture. / 2
2.
So, you can appreciate that it is against the background of
that very substantial and dramatic development in our
relations in the economic and commercial, cultural, scientific,
trading, agricultural fields it is against the background of
those developments that the partnership now that has been
created between your national airlines, CAAC, and QANTAS, our
national airline to establish a direct link, assumes a very
great importance. It is not merely the fact of the service,
but as I said in my opening remarks, it will be a facilitator
for the other important growing links between us.
I'm going to conclude these opening remark~ s by saying that all
these developments that I have referred to I hope confirm to you
the fact that I and my Government attach the very highest
importance to our relations with-China. We put them at the very
highest category of Ufiportance as far as we are concerned. I
have established warm personal relationships with Premier Zhao,
my counterpart, and also with others in the leadership. And we
will in the months and the years ahead do everything that we can
to assist in the deepening and the broadening of that relationship.
It will remain central to our development of our relations in
the region and I believe that we share common aspirations for the
economic development of our own countries we can help one another
very significantly, and will continue to do that. And I believe
together we can also play a role in trying to achieve a
peaceful environment in our region which will be so important t~ o
the plans which we both have to strengthen our economy and to
improve the standards of living for our people.
I ask you all to convey in the opportunities available to you
to the people of China our warmest good wishes for their future!
wellbeing. Q: The journalist from the Peoples' Daily wondered if you
could just speak briefly about development~ s which will arise out
of the opening of this new flight.
HAWKE: I think we can really put it in two categories. Firstly,
I hope that it will lead to an increase in people exchanges.
We had, as I understand, last year 55,000 Australians visiting
China. And in the discussions I had earlier with your leaders
established the fact it is far and away the highest per capita
visitation from any country in the world. While Japan and the
United States have higher absolute numbers, on a per capita basis,
with less than 16 million people here, our 55,000 represents
the biggest level. Now we hope that with the inauguration of
the direct air services that even more people from Australia will
visit China and from China to Australia. And that will broaden
and deepen the relationships between our two countries, that I
alluded to before. The second category of importance, I think,.
is that you will see from what I have said before, that there
are very important economic relationships developing between us.
We are hoping to be of assistance to China in the areas of
technological assistance, particularly in the development of
your iron and steel industry but in many other areas in
agriculture and similarly we hope to draw upon your experience
and market possibilities. And so the very fact that we have a
direct air service now will mean that constant flow of people
that we have in the area of commercial and economic development: / 3
will be made easier and we see great benefits for both our
countries in an increasing degree of integration between us
not just in iron and steel, but in other areas and clearly
therefore the emergence of a direct air link will facilitate
those goals.
4Q: This journalist is from the Guangdong Daily, a newspaper,
part of Guangzhou. Of course Guangdong Province has special
relations with Australia through its relations with the State
of NSW and many Australians overseas Chinese come from Guangdong
Province and now really opened paths and special economic
zones in Guangdong. It is playing an important role in China's
new open door policy. I wonder if you would like to make a few
comments on China's open door policy.
HAWKE: Yes indeed. From the time of my first meeting with
Premier Zhao in April of last year I was struck immediately by
the importance of the changes in policies that he was outlining
to me then. And indeed I took it upon myself following those
discussions I had with him to explain nol: only here in Australia,
but overseas when I vient over to Europe and America a few mon-ths
after that, to explain what I saw as the fundamental significance
of these new developments. And my understanding of them was
further enhanced when I had the opportunity in February of many
hours of discussion with Premier Zhao. And I was able to be
informed of the very great success of these new directions and
economic policy in the first place of course in the rural
areas and the dramatic improvements in, pr. oduction and incomes
amongst the people of the rural areas of China. Those achievements
in the last few years have been absolutely dramatic and with the
development of these concepts gradually into the rest of the
economy that is very important not merely for the people of
China itself, but as you say, a part of the important part of
these new directions is the opening up to the rest of the
community the way which is very sensibly in my judgement
being pursued by China for its benefit so) that you will be ab. le
to have the advantage of technology from countries who are
further down those paths. And of course it is a two-way benefit.
While that is going to assist China in its modernisation plans,
its new concepts of increasing the efficiency of production and
the level of production. Of course at the same time that is of
benefit to those of us in the rest of the world who are going to
have the opportunity of being associated with you in these new
directions. Now all that I have said in answer to your question
so far has been put in economic terms, in material terms, but I
think you should not overlook the importance to us all that the
more we can have co-operation in economic and commercial terms,
the more I believe that means we are going to be able to learna
to understand one another, our different systems, if you like,
our different backgrounds. And that, I believe, makes it
important in creating a better environment for peaceful
relationships in the world. So it has, if I may sum it up. I
see the changes in China as being of fundamental importance for
the future welfare of China. I am excited about changes that
have taken place and are appearing. We want very much to be
associated with them. And as I say, finally, we see them as
important in economic terms but having that wider significance
as well. / 4
4.
Q: Thank you very much for what you had to say. Of course,
as you know, and have just explained, the special relationship
between the people of Guangdong Province and Australia. I
wonder if you have a few words which you would care to have
conveyed to the people of Guangdong Province?
HAWKE: Yes, I would simply say this to the people. If you would
relay to the people of Guangdong Province my personal best wishe! s
for the success of their developments plans and say that we are
very pleased that there is this special relationship with the
Province and that I will certainly give every encouragement to
Australian enterprise being associated in whatever way is
desired to assist in the plans you have for development in the
province. Q: The gentleman isfrom-an economic paper....... and he was
wondering if you could say perhaps a little more about development
bilaterally, but also about Australia' s own plans for development
because it is something' which his readers in China are very
interested in.
HAWKE: Yes, well I think as well as the bilateral relations arE!
concerned, I have said already a fair amount about that. Perhaps
it would be best if I concentrated on the second part of the
question of what we have in mind here. We have a clear view in
Australia that we have to develop our economy in a way which is
going to enable us to integrate more effectively with the region.
We live in a part of the world which has been experiencing and
in our judgement will in the future continue to experience high
rates of economic growth. And we expect Australia to also be
amongst those growth leaders in the years ahead, as they are already
starting to be. Now that means in Australi~ a we have to be prepared
to make quite significant changes in our economic structure. Our
first responsibility in getting into government was to arrest the
general economic downturn that Australia faced and get the economy
growing again. We have done that. Our rate of economic growth
in the last twelve months was the fastest of all the OECD
countries. But we have now to translate that turn-around in
growth. We were able to create by a range of economic policies
into a gradual re-structuring of our industry so that we can
become more internationally competitive to develop those sorts of
industries where we can create certain advantages. Now to
illustrate to you that this is not merely words we have already
taken action at this time in two of our important industries
steel and motor vehicles. We have in co-operation with the major
enterprise in steel that is Broken Hill Propriety and the
unions and government developed a steel industry plan which
involves more investment by the industry itself, greater
co-operation for increased productivity on the part of the unions
and governmental assistance in a way which is not going to
increase the downstrength of steel products. Now in the event,
the steel industry has been turned around from a position where
it was a question whether it was going to survive into one where it
is now productive, profitable and competitive. Now, in the motor
vehicle industry we have looked at it and said it is not as
presently structured relevant to either the best interests of the
domestic market or our external competitive position. So we have
brought in a plan which will involve a gradual lowering of
protection through to 1992. It will involve the rationalisation
of the industry in a situation where there are some 13 different
models being produced now down to a very small number of models,
the reduction from five different manufacturing entities down to
a lesser number. And in that way we believe that this industry
will become more competitive and able to take a role in the
of Australian industry in the region. Now I give those as
examples of our commitment to change the strucdure of Australian
industry in a way which will enable us to compete in the markets
of the region and to do it in a way which, I think, is very
important from your point of view to do it in a way which is
not going to rely on high and increasing levels of protection in
our community, to a gradual lowering of the levels of protection
so that as we increase our own exports of primary products and
raw materials as well as raw manufactured goods, we will also
be more open to inports-from countries including China. Now, I
apolgize if that is rather lengthy, but as : lengthy as the answer
is, it doesn't do justice to all the details of our plans for the
future, but I hope it gives you a basic indication of future
thrusts of Australian economic policy.
Q: This man is from the China Daily.........( inaudible)
and a large portion of the readers of the China Daily are
foreigners........ He was wondering if you could say some indication
what are the sort of things that Australians most like to know
about China
HAWKE: That's a good question. According to my impression
it may be that if you asked others they would have some
different emphases, but I think if you look at recent experience
you would have to say that there is a great fascination in
Australia for the ancient civilisation of China. The exhibitions
that have been brought to Australia recently have had a
tremendous reaction. I believe that the statistic for the
Australians who visited the entombed warniers exhibition was one
in twenty I think that is correct. one in twenty of all
Australians visited that exhibition. Now when you come to think
of it that is a truly remarkable figure and it would lead me to
suggest that that is an aspect of China's history what it has
to offer that is particularly significant to Australians. I
think if I can be quite direct about it as well, as we know from
our relatively recent history that China was seen as if not an
antagonist country and I go back to the experince * in Indo-China
and the conflict there, there was a mystery, a separation between
us and I think, as so often happens, once you have a bringing to
an end of that position of non-recognition of actual potential
conflict which was brought to an end with the election of the
Labor Government here at the end of 1972, the actual people here
in Australia were, I think, greatly relieved thatthis possible
tension had been removed and they simply wanted to get to know as
quickly as they could the country and its people in all its
manifestations and so I think that explains why and if I could
pay tribute to my predecessor the previous government under
Mr Fraser took up the initiative and the attitude that was established
by Mr Whitlam, and so Australians were encouraged to get to know
China in respect not merely of cultural areas that I talked about,
but in the areas of how you go about the business of running the
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economy of such a vast country. And I think Australians
are fascinated by the fact that we're a country of just
over 15 million people and we find it hard enough to run a
country of 15 million people some find it harder than
others I might say, or have found it harder than others
but the sheer magnitude of administering a country of a
billion people is fascinating to Australians. So I think
one of the things that Australians are interested about is
simply just how you do run the business of a country of a
billion people. I am. sure that is one of the elements of
fascination. But what we are seeing now is such a surge of
interest and it is a fundamental I mean it is not merely
there as a country we want to see as a touirist, but there is
a fascination about how China functions. And I would say to
you therefore that the ' sorts of aieas of interest that have
been opened up in sport, agriculture, commercial relationships
are to be seen, in my judgement, as part of a whole of a real
interest in how you are-going about the business of meeting the
needs of your one billion people how you do it in a technical
administrative sense and how your people live and how they
derive their happiness, their satisfaction that sort of thing.
And that is why I believe that the changes that are taking place!
in China that I referred to before are increasingly being
watched with great interest by Australians because we know the
difficulties that you have in looking after so many people and
the challenges that confront you in the way you very successfull. y
are seen to be meeting it is a matter of great interest to us.
Q: This man is from the Beijing Daily -having come from the
capital of China to the capital of Australia he wondered if you
could say a few words to the people of China's capital.
HAWKE: Yes, I would firstly like to convey my warm greetings to
the people of Beijing and to say how much I, my wife and my
colleagues appreciated the warmth of the reception that we
received when we were in your city in February this year. I'm
glad the people were warm because your climate. wasn't. Nevertheless
we recovered from the weather very quickly because of the way
which the people matched the warmth of Premier Zhao and the other
leaders that we met. May I say that I was impressed with the
way which there was evidence of work being done to improve the
housing conditions of the people of Beijing. I would merely say
to them that we here in Australia are excited about the opportunities
that for us here in Australia to be associated with
you in meeting the great challenges that you have in developing
the standards of living for your people. We hope that in our
small way we will be able to play a part with you in meeting those
challenges.