August

China Briefing 2/09

August 27^th

"Is the Chinese Stimulus Package Working? What Does it Mean to Australia?"

The second China Briefing was a great success. The topic attracted much attention and the audience included representatives from the education, finance, business and the government sector. Altogether more than 90 guests attended the event.

The speakers were as follows:

- Professor Cui Zhiyuan, School of Public Policy and Management, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
- Mr. Rowan Callick, Asia-Pacific Editor, The Australian Newspaper
- Professor Christopher Findlay AM, School of Economics, The University of Adelaide

The Briefing was sponsored by Ernst & Young and the event opened with a welcome speech by Mr. Angus Blackwood, Partner Ernst & Young, followed by Prof Mobo Gao who gave a short introduction of the Confucius Institute and the China Briefing series. The three guest speakers were then introduced by Prof Andrew Watson and asked to present their perspectives on the topic.

The forum was excellently moderated by Prof Andrew Watson, School of Economics at the University of Adelaide. His extensive Chinese experience and diplomatic approach enabled him to not only summarise the discussion points extremely well but also to add valuable comments and to ensure smooth transfer from one discussion point to another. Moreover he kept a vigilant eye on the time schedule.

Each speaker approached the topic from a slightly different angle and one of the reasons for the success of the event was most likely the fact that the very different profiles of the three experts offered a wealth of information and views. Another reason was the fact that the Confucius Institute was able to invite an expert from China, Prof Cui Zhiyuan and a prominent journalist, Mr Callick. Both Prof Findlay and Prof Watson are, of course, also excellent speakers and renowned experts on the Chinese economy.

Given the present strained relationship between Australia and China, the topic was very current, which was reflected in the very lively Q & A session. Prof Cui Zhiyuan stressed the fact that both sides should focus on the existing similarities between the Australian and Chinese culture rather than on the differences.