Australia-China Relations & the Trump Factor – ACBC Leadership Series

27 Aug 2020

Join ACBC for a deep-dive into the current Australia-China relationship including impacts of the always dynamic ‘Trump factor’.

ACBC is proud to introduce our Leadership Series, offering members and the wider community the opportunity, through leading speakers, to gain greater knowledge and understanding of the historical context, current issues, mutual benefits and opportunities afforded by our trading relationship with China in an increasingly complex global environment.

In this inaugural session, we are pleased to host Australia’s leading China observers John Fitzgerald and Rowan Callick. Both speakers are leaders in academia with unrivalled experience in China and Australia.

Focussing on Australia, China and the United States in the age of Trump, speakers will address the nuances of the relationship, including the growing diplomatic divide, China’s policy direction, escalating trade conflicts and address areas of positivity that are emerging for a constructive path forward.

Drawing on his recent article for China Story, Rowan will forecast where China’s economy is heading and address the importance of personal, cross-border business relationships to deepen understanding of the dynamic, and rapidly recovering Chinese market.

We are delighted John and Rowan will speak in conversation with ACBC Victoria President, Matthew Schofield, Partner, ShineWing.

Guests will have an opportunity to ask our speakers the hard questions on engaging with our number one trade partner and obtain meaningful insights on a range of sectors and the future direction of the trade relationship.

As we enter new chapter forever changed by COVID-19, ACBC is here to keep you informed and best equipped to effectively engage with China.

Our Speakers

John Fitzgerald is Emeritus Professor in the Centre for Social Impact at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne where he headed the Asia-Pacific philanthropy studies program from 2013 to 2017. He holds a Ph.D. from ANU and held a Fulbright postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research focuses on the history of nationalism, public administration, and philanthropy in China, and on the histories of the Chinese diaspora, and his public commentaries focus on China-Australia relations.

Rowan Callick is a public speaker, author and Walkley Award winning media writer. He is an Industry Fellow at Griffith University’s Asia Institute and a member of the Advisory Boards of La Trobe University’s Asia Institute and of its China Studies Department, of the Australia China Relations Institute at University of Technology Sydney, and of the National Foundation for Australia China Relations. As a journalist, he was Beijing-based China Correspondent of The Australian, following 20 years with The Australian Financial Review including as China Correspondent based in Hong Kong. He was also Asia-Pacific Editor for both newspapers.

Event Details

Date: Wednesday 16 September 2020

Time: 12:00pm – 1:30pm AEST

Format: Zoom Webinar, Presentation, Q&A

Member Cost: Free

Non-member Cost: $35 (+GST +Online Booking Fee)

Buy Ticket

Event Speakers

John Fitzgerald

Emeritus Professor in the Centre for Social Impact at Swinburne University of Technology

John Fitzgerald is Emeritus Professor in the Centre for Social Impact at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne where he headed the Asia-Pacific philanthropy studies program from 2013 to 2017. Before that he served five years as China Representative of The Ford Foundation in Beijing and before that again as Director of the International Centre of Excellence in Asia-Pacific Studies at the Australian National University. From 2015 to 2017 he was the elected President of the Australian Academy of the Humanities. His research focuses on the history of nationalism, public administration, and philanthropy in China, and on the histories of the Chinese diaspora, and his public commentaries focus on China-Australia relations. His books include Big White Lie: Chinese Australians in White Australia, awarded the Ernest Scott Prize of the Australian Historical Association, and Awakening China, awarded the Joseph Levenson Prize of the U.S. Association for Asian Studies. He has a Ph.D. from ANU and held a Fulbright postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is a graduate of the University of Sydney.

Rowan Callick

Industry Fellow at Griffith University's Asia Institute and a member of the Advisory Boards of La Trobe University’s Asia Institute and its China Studies Department

Rowan Callick is a public speaker, author and media writer. He is an Industry Fellow at Griffith University's Asia Institute and a member of the Advisory Boards of La Trobe University’s Asia Institute and of its China Studies Department, of the Australia China Relations Institute at University of Technology Sydney, and of the National Foundation for Australia China Relations. He is a governor of the Foundation for Development Cooperation. As a journalist, he was Beijing-based China Correspondent of The Australian for two terms, the second ending in mid 2018, following 20 years with The Australian Financial Review including as China Correspondent based in Hong Kong. He was also Asia-Pacific Editor for both newspapers. And he was a senior writer with Time magazine, and a newspaper publisher in Papua New Guinea for 10 years. He has written three books published in both English and Chinese: Comrades & Capitalists: Hong Kong Since the Handover; Channar: A landmark venture in iron ore; and Party Time: Who Runs China and How. He won the Graham Perkin Award for Journalist of the Year for 1995, two Walkley Awards, for Asia-Pacific coverage, for 1997 and 2007 and was awarded an OBE on the recommendation of the PNG Government in 2015.