Australian firms urged to focus on China

Australia needs to build its China capability to fully leverage business and economic ties, according to a major forum attended by senior public and private sector representatives.

Many Australian businesses have developed strong knowledge and networks for the Chinese market but "significant capability gaps remain in areas including localization and e-commerce", skills critical to competing effectively, according to a statement from the Australia China Business Council, or ACBC.

The council, which positions itself as Australia's premier business organization dedicated to the bilateral economic relationship, made the statement for its flagship 2026 Canberra Networking Day event in the Australian capital on Thursday.

The ACBC highlighted that China accounted for about one-quarter of Australia's total trade in goods and services in 2025, with two-way trade reaching A$326 billion ($227 billion). Despite this, it said the scale of the relationship does not automatically translate into commercial success for Australian businesses.

The event, themed "Engagement to Advantage: Building Australia's China Capability", was held as the ACBC "prepares to make strengthening Australia's China capability a central priority for 2027", it said.

Speaking at the event, Chinese Ambassador to Australia Liu Jinsong said the nature of the two countries' economic and trade cooperation is evolving.

"While our partnership was largely driven by trade in goods, today we are seeing growing two-way flow of technology, services, and innovation," he said.

"China-Australia trade and economic cooperation is shifting gear, with traditional drivers remaining strong and new sources of growth emerging," Liu said.

"Treating each other as equals is the cornerstone of our engagement," he said.

The Chinese and Australian economies are highly complementary, Liu said. "Each has its own industrial strengths and our market needs align in many ways. This makes us natural partners."

Australia's Trade and Tourism Minister Don Farrell said that "at a time when world trade is changing very rapidly and very dramatically, we must find time to be calm, to be methodical, to be deliberate … So that we can see the connections and not lose sight of what it all means".

Farrell added that it is especially apt when talking about trade with China because China is Australia's most important trading and economic partner.

The ACBC's latest research via its members and the broader Australian business community found that there were some gaps in China's capabilities, especially in middle management, David Morris, the council's chief executive officer, told China Daily.

"It's time for us to look at how we build those connections for the new, emerging industries of the future, position ourselves better for them and make sure that we are competitive, that we've got not only the products and services to offer to China, but that we can build the capabilities to do that effectively as well," he said.

Rhys Roberts, ACBC's president and board chair, told China Daily the two countries are "vitally entwined in each other's prosperity for the future".

From Australia's mining and resources sector helping fuel Chinese infrastructure building to premium agricultural products catering to increasingly affluent Chinese consumers, it is about adding value for win-win partnerships, he said.

"We've got stability in the relationship, which is not to be taken for granted. Both countries have worked hard to secure that … We can see how we can support and benefit each other; for the ACBC, we do business, we build bridges to help our people prosper, and nations thrive," Roberts said.

Building on those ties also offers lessons for the rest of the world amid challenges to globalization, Geoff Raby, former Australian ambassador to China, told China Daily.

"A good Australia-China relationship has very big implications for the international system because it demonstrates how countries with different systems are able to find common interests and work together to their mutual advantage," he said.

Hans Hendrischke, professor of Chinese business and management at the University of Sydney Business School, said Australian enterprises seeking to improve and localize their abilities to fit into the Chinese market and work with Chinese partners reflected an anticipation of improved relations that will take effort from both sides.