The Australian Centre on China in the World (CIW), which created and curates The China Story Project, engages with the public and policy discussion of relations with the People’s Republic of China and the Chinese world. Australia-China Agenda 2013 is our contribution to an important election year in Australia (the election will be held on 14 September) and on-going consideration of the bilateral relationship.
It is a relationship that touches on virtually every aspect of our national life. A mature and beneficial engagement of such breadth and depth requires the leadership and support of government at all levels, as well as public stewardship, media understanding, educational enhancement, and the strategic involvement of the business community.
Australia-China exchanges are also profoundly influenced by regional and bilateral relationships. Australia and China trade in goods as well as culture, politics and people, ideas and education, community and personalities.
Australia-China Agenda: 2013 brings to the attention of the public and the media, politicians and specialists some reflections and policy ideas authored by specialists with a professional interest and involvement in the relationship.
The first agenda paper, downloadable here in PDF format, is written by Carrillo Gantner. Carrillo trained as an actor and director in the USA. He founded the Playbox Theatre Company in 1976 and served as Cultural Counsellor at the Australian Embassy in Beijing for several years from 1985. He was Chairman of the Asialink Centre at the University of Melbourne for fourteen years, President of the Victorian Arts Centre Trust for nine years, and he currently serves as President of the Melbourne Festival. Carrillo is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Australian Centre on China in the World. An earlier version of this text was written for a CIW workshop on Australia-China cultural contacts in the 1970s and 1980s held in Canberra in February this year.—Geremie R. Barmé Founding Director, CIW
