China is a country located in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population of over 1.35 billion.
China is the fourth largest country in the world behind Russia, Canada, and the United States.
Australia is a continent and a country in the Southern Hemisphere, lying to the south of Southeast Asia, which divides the Indian and South Pacific Oceans. The population of Australia is 23 million.
In 2009 China surpassed Japan to become Australia's largest export market, the Australian and Chinese economies are strongly complementary. As a result, our trade and investment relationship is substantial and has developed well beyond its modest beginnings in the 1970s. According to Australian statistics, two-way merchandise trade has grown from $113 million in 1973, just after the establishment of diplomatic relations, to $78.2 billion in 2009. China is Australia's largest trading partner, with total trade (goods and services) in 2009 valued at $85.1 billion, an increase of 15.1 per cent over the previous year.
Government and/or NGO Roles:
The Australian Government established the Australia-China Council (ACC) in 1978 to promote mutual understanding and foster people-to-people relations between Australia and China. The Chairperson is appointed by the Executive Council on the recommendation of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, who also appoints the Board members.
The function of the Council is to make recommendations to the Australian Government through the Minister for Foreign Affairs on strengthening the Australia-China relationship in ways that support Australia's foreign and trade policy interests.
The Australia China Business Council (ACBC) is a membership-based, non-profit, non-governmental organisation comprising of a National Office, six Branches, and more than 1500 representatives from over 700 Australian companies who do business with China.
Founded in 1973, ACBC actively promotes two-way trade and