The first Westpac, a student massacre and racist remarks — the complicated relationship with our largest trading partner.
Born in China in 1945, Francis Lee looks back fondly at his decision to set sail for Sydney in 1961 when he was only 16 years old.
"I loved the simplicity and honesty of its people, and I felt very much at home," he reflects from his home in Zetland, NSW.
In 1961, China was still under the rule of communist revolutionary and People's Republic of China founder Mao Zedong, with whom Australia had no diplomatic relations — our embassy was still in Taipei, not Beijing, or Peking, as it was known at the time.
"Deep down I was still very Chinese, especially in terms of literature and family tradition," Francis adds.
"But I accepted and appreciated both facets of my personality and history, and was fully prepared to seek a future in this new land."
Francis was naturalised as an Australian citizen in 1968, just a couple of years before then-opposition leader Gough Whitlam would make a surprise visit to Beijing in 1971, breaking ranks with the United States in seeking to establish relations.
It was the first instance of goodwill China had had from Australia in years.
During his meeting with China's former premier, Mr Whitlam said that Canberra would recognise Beijing if he was elected — a move he said should have taken place decades before.
It was a political gamble of seismic proportions, but fortuitous timing.
The following year, Mr Whitlam would lead the Labor Party to victory after decades in opposition, and officially established diplomatic relations on December 21, 1972.
Soon after, the government closed its consulate in Taipei — a key condition of the new relationship — and moved it to Beijing.
Days later, United States national security adviser Henry Kissinger would follow in setting up a secret meeting with China's leaders.
"When Henry Kissinger [on behalf of President Richard Nixon] got to Beijing, I had already gone to Shanghai!" Mr Whitlam later publicly joked at a dinner.
Back in Sydney, a young Francis, now working as an engineer, welcomed the news.
"[Gough] had a vision, he had courage," Francis says. "At a time when people were suspicious of China, he took the lead to go, even ahead of America."
After establishing the new embassy in Beijing, a whirlwind of diplomatic activities followed, including Australia signing a three-year trade agreement with China the following year.
Domestically, China was about to start rapidly changing, too.
In 1976, Chairman Mao died of a heart attack, which also brought about an end to the Cultural Revolution and its associated hardline communist, anti-capitalist values.
Then in 1978, new leader Deng Xiaoping would introduce radical economic reforms — allowing foreign investments and private businesses to thrive — and the foundations for what would become "socialism with Chinese characteristics" would be laid down.
Beijing was opening up to the modern world, and more and more Australians would begin to visit and live in mainland China.
'A little taste of Australia'
In 1982, Australian-born Joanne Wood — whose story mirrors Francis' — went to Beijing to study Mandarin, with the hopes of becoming a translator for the United Nations.
Plunged into the newly re-opened but cold, dark winter of Beijing, with temperatures below 20 degrees Celsius, it was a clear contrast to her life back in Adelaide.
"What caught my attention was the vast open areas of land," she recalls.
"China was coming out of a period of turmoil back then, and it felt like you were in the last vestiges of the Cultural Revolution."
Because of her height and light skin, Joanne was often thought to be Russian. When she told people she was from Australia, knowledge of the country and responses were surprisingly consistent.
"They all knew about kangaroos, that we were a vast country with great wealth and resources — and also that we had wonderful seafood," she says.
As her scholarship program was coming to an end, Joanne was determined to stay, live and work in Beijing, rather than return home to Australia.
"So I printed off my CV and cycled 15 kilometres into town to Tiananmen Square," she says.
"In those days, there were very few foreign businessmen based in China, and almost every one lived and worked out of a hotel room, [which at the time was] really only two or three hotels."
Within two days of door-knocking to hand out her resume, Joanne secured a job with an American bank that no longer exists — the Chemical Bank — and entered the world of finance.
Set-up in a hotel office, she recalls the first Australian bank in China — Westpac — operating in the same hotel across the hall, which she fondly remembers as being "a little taste of Australia" in her new home.
While Joanne continued to travel around and adjust to life in China, popular reformist and democracy advocate, general secretary Hu Yaobang, would make a landmark trip to Australia in 1985.
Mr Hu met with then-prime minister Bob Hawke, visited an iron ore mine, signed numerous trade deals, and opened new consulates.
The visit would set the template for trade relations between the two countries: iron ore and steel industries.
Meanwhile in Sydney, Francis was becoming more and more involved with the growing Chinese Australian community, founding the Australian Chinese Forum in 1985.
The forum was designed to give the Chinese community a voice in Australia's political process.
But just a couple of years later, the China-Australia relationship was about to face its first significant challenge.
'A bloody incident'
In 1989, Mr Hu — who had recently catalysed trade with Australia during his trip — died, prompting widespread protests due to his popularity as a democratic reformer among students.
The protests escalated into the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy movement, which Beijing would respond to with military force, killing what's now believed to have been hundreds of people.
"On June 4, I awoke to see the news that a bloody incident had taken place overnight," Francis recalls, adding that the massacre cast a long shadow on China and Australia's relationship.
Dozens of Chinese community leaders — including Francis — were called into a special meeting with Mr Hawke in Canberra to discuss the incident.
Despite increasing community concerns about the rate of Asian immigration into Australia, Mr Hawke would later act alone in granting asylum to some 40,000 Chinese students, prompting the biggest influx of Chinese migrants since the Gold Rush.
"I have a deep love for the Chinese people," Mr Hawke said.
"I was told: 'You cannot [just hand out visas like that], prime minister'.
"I said to them, 'I just did. It is done.'"
Despite the fallout from Tiananmen, the incentive of trade between the countries grew stronger as both sides opted to focus on mutual economic interests, rather than political differences.
The following years would see China's trade open up further, with Beijing joining the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in 1991. By 2020, Chinese trade with APEC countries would reach nearly $3 trillion per year.
Meanwhile, political mishaps and fallouts would continue to colour the relationship.
In 1995, during his campaign to win government, John Howard visited Sydney's Chinatown to meet with the media and community leaders, which included Francis.
"I told John Howard: 'I do not regard you as a racist, but I do think you are riding the wave of racist sentiments, as such I feel you are an opportunist'," Francis recalls.
The comment raised a few eyebrows, as the event was otherwise calm and courteous, with Mr Howard calling the assertion "a bit rich".
After his victory, Mr Howard then sought to reinvigorate the United States alliance with criticisms of Taiwan, in addition to meeting with the Dalai Lama. This angered Beijing, leading to Australian businesses in China being punished and a freeze in ministerial visits.
Relations would thaw on the sidelines of an APEC meeting in late 1996 — a meeting Mr Howard would recall as one of the most important during his time as prime minister.
By the mid to late 1990s, bilateral relations and trade would be thriving, and in 2002 China joined the World Trade Organization.
"It went from just five of us sitting in a bar in the basement of the old embassy, with the senior trade commissioner just talking about the activity that was happening on the ground, to seeing the Australian community rapidly expand," Joanne recalls.
In 2003, Hu Jintao would become the first Chinese president to address Australian parliament, prompting criticisms as the gesture was usually reserved for democratic allies to signal a commitment to democratic values.
And by 2010, China would overtake Japan as Australia's largest trading partner, a relationship that was considered key to Australia surviving the Global Financial Crisis relatively unscathed.
"Because of our ability to be friendly with China, we can sustain ourselves economically in the world — and I think that should be our future," Francis says.
'More good times than bad'
In November 2014, newly appointed president Xi Jinping visited Australia and also addressed parliament, which coincided with the signing of a landmark Free Trade Agreement deal between Australia and China.
During his speech, Mr Xi maintained that despite disagreements on some issues, it was important that both sides "keep their eyes on the sun". In other words, to focus on the positive benefits, not negative differences.
The years that followed would see accusations of overreach in the South China Sea and the Pacific.
The introduction of foreign interference laws amid accusations of meddling in domestic politics.
And the COVID-19 pandemic, which was followed by accusations China was obstructing investigations into the origins of the virus.
Years would go by without a significant one-on-one bilateral meeting.
Strained ties would remain, until this year when newly-elected Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with Mr Xi on the sidelines of the G20 summit, leading both sides to speak enthusiastically about the 50-year milestone.
Mr Xi maintained that there were "no fundamental conflicting differences" between the two countries.
"In 1972, we agreed on principles to guide the relationship based on equality, mutual respect and benefits, and a commitment to coexist peacefully," Mr Albanese said, "and these principles remain important today."
After personally experiencing the ebb and flow of the relationship over the past 40 years, Joanne, now based in Shanghai, believes there's a resilience to the relationship — even at the senior governmental level — that outlives headlines or temporary fallouts.
"I've seen the relationship go through good times far more than bad times," she says.
"What I witness time and time again is this great rapport ... that has really helped both countries to move forward in the way that we have with a relationship that is quite long lasting."
But while the latest thawing of ties is a positive step toward improving relations, many roadblocks and sticking points remain, like China's human rights record, trade relations, and disagreements over the future of Taiwan.
Hence, despite today's outcomes and announcements, Francis remains cautiously optimistic noting the importance of both sides' "the returning of goodwill" in restarting dialogue, while keeping an eye on how how tensions may unfold come 2023.
Reads the story in Chinese: 阅读中文版
Credits
- Reporter: Jenny Tang
- Photos: ABC Archives, National Archives of Australia, Supplied, AFP (Deng Xiaoping rides in a car, Hu Jintao addressing parliament), Australian National University Archives (Bob Hawke with Hu Yaobang)
- Supervising Producer: Bang Xiao
- Production & Editing: Steven Viney
