Let me preface my remarks by disclosing, I have many Chinese friends and relatives, some of who hate communism and everything it stands for, with a passion that needs to be seen to be believed!
Yes lets lose the unhelpful rhetoric. Lets all learn Mandrin as our preferred second language. Lets also understand that although we may well be able to learn French in just a few hundred hours, whereas, we need literally thousands of hours to speak and write fluent Mandrin, and fund it accordingly!
We note the very rapid expansion and modernisation of China's military.
We also see the recent history of the annexing of near and virtually helpless neighbours, and the accompanying assurances, that China has no expansionist history!
Let's hope that is their plans; albeit, confounded by the recent massive military build up?
We for our part need to very thoroughly diversify, and seek and find more trade partners and trade opportunities.
We need to do this to reduce our reliance on an aging China, if for no other reason than it is an aging economy.
Moreover, most of India has English as their second language, is a democracy, and loves gladiatorial cricket as much as we do!
The cold war is now just history, India has a young and growing population and a larger middle class than the USA!
It is closer than China, and a natural bulwark against very much southern expansion by China.
Who may well have many more concerns with her's; and or, Mongolia's north western borders, and traditional sabre rattling enmity?
In the final analysis, all we can ever do is hope for the best; but, prepare for the worst.
We should always remain cognisant of the fact; you can't ever appease dictators, who only ever see it as weakness,lack of genuine resolve, or carte blanche to do as they plan or wish?
Rhrosty.

My wife is Chinese. I'm Australian. She was young when Chairman Mao was dragging China into a revolution that turned the country on its head. It was a very bad time and many people were killed or starved to death.

Mao tried to turn the Chinese hierarchy on its head, elevating the peasants and punishing the intellectuals and the rich. He was clearly mad!

China is an ancient civilization, thousands of years old. Unlike the European nations, it was not a colonialist nation. Australia and the U.S. are Johnny-come-latelies and the U.S. seeks control of the world.

Australia needs to appreciate China and stop looking at the U.S. with rose colored glasses.

Lo states that China has never had colonial ambitions beyond its historic borders. The problem comes with China's interpretation of where those 'historic borders' are. It lays claim to every scrap of land in the South China Sea, to the entire Indian State of Arunachal Pradesh, which it calls 'Southern Tibet', and of course to Taiwan.

Lo also supports the conventional wisdom that China's rise to become the world's largest economy is inevitable. Well, we shall see.

Like Rhrosty, I view Australia's growing dependence on China as a destination for our exports with some alarm and urge diversification, with India a prime target.

It's great that this article has appeared on OLO.

Of course, the American-apologists will hate it. Why? Because China will eventually make the U.S. look like a banana republic.

Funny thing is that Chinese people were in Australia during the gold rush and have been here ever since. They have never caused Australia any worries and have been hard-working, good citizens.

But China threatens the preemminent role that the U.S. demands exclusively for itself. So indoctrinated Aussies will heap scorn upon China and label it a danger while they take its money.

Australia needs China. The U.S. doesn't need Australia!

We must choose wisely! When America falls we don't want to fall with it!

The author must think Australians stupid not to see through this propaganda and veiled threats. If China has no history of "aggressiveness" then why does he warn us of "creating hostilities", "backfire" and "caution"?

He would have us believe that, in all of history, Australia is uniquely qualified to stir aggressiveness in China when no other country has managed to. With just a few misplaced words, Australia could provoke China like no other country ever could? This is unbelievable propaganda.

Graham C is correct: we need to diversify our trade, and India is a good place to start.

David G is correct.The Western Oligarchs only recently began to demonise China in 2008 when China refused to open up the rest of it's economy to their private central banks.

It is our Banking, Military,Industrial,Complex (BMIC) which makes us slaves to debt and seeks to bring in their "New World Order" that the BRICS nations seek to escape.

The Chinese Govt supplies 80% of new money debt free by Govt Banks ,while the West is held captive by private central banks that express our productivity and inflation as debt. China grows at 9-12%,while the West grows at 3% with 3% inflation.Private Central Banks have us screwed.

China and Russia are not our enemies.Our enemy is our own banking system which is really a counterfeiting scam that expresses our productivity as debt.Quantative Easing Three (QU3)is about to happen and further put more money in fewer hands.QE3 is counterfeiting and should be illegal.

Your admiration of China's banking system isn't universal, Arjay.

"Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told a national audience on Tuesday that China's state-controlled banks are a "monopoly" that must be broken up"

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304750404577321762422668428.html

Any thoughts on why he may have said that?

Oh, he explains it himself...

"Let me be frank. Our banks earn profit too easily. Why? Because a small number of large banks have a monopoly"

Oh dear.

And you are kidding yourself about China's debt situation. It is actually worse than ours here in Australia.

http://www.indexmundi.com/china/public_debt.html

Although not quite as bad as Brazil.

Seriously. Do you plan do do any research at all?

Ever?

I'll help you get started, Arjay… Here is an example of one of the representatives of the Western Oligarchs demonising China since 2008:

"Hillary Clinton presses China to keep buying US debt" by Bill Van Auken

…"Clinton added, "We are truly going to rise or fall together. By continuing to support American treasury instruments, the Chinese are recognizing our interconnection."...

Any implied demonising seems to be in the other direction… "at a joint press conference the day before, China's foreign minister, Yang Jiechi, dodged a question as to whether Beijing would continue buying the US notes, saying only that China would seek safe, high-value and liquid investments for its foreign currency reserves…"

"Meanwhile, with some 26 million migrant workers having lost their jobs and 670,000 businesses having shut down because of collapsing export markets for Chinese-made electronics, toys, apparel and other consumer items, there is growing unrest and increasing popular demand that the money be spent at home to alleviate deepening social misery.

China has launched its own $600 billion stimulus package which it must pay for under conditions of sharply decreased tax revenues.

While an 8.8 percent economic growth rate is needed just to generate sufficient jobs for the 24 million new workers who enter the Chinese labor market each year, latest forecasts for 2009 project 5.5 percent growth or worse - down from 11.9 percent in 2007."

Now I know the article is from February 25, 2009 – but it is from the website you keep referring other people to, globalresearch. It's not my fault if it's the most recent one dealing with these topics.

By the way, where do you think China's foreign currency reserves come from?

Mr. Lo writes: "In my view, the complicated relationship between China and Australia also has a knock-on effect to the Australian Chinese community. Invariably, some may get caught between allegiance to their adopted home and loyalty to the motherland."

It is clear from Mr. Lo's comments that many "overseas Chinese" in Australia have no intention of assimilating into mainstream Australian society. Rather, their loyalty is firmly to "the motherland", as Mr. Lo calls it, and will continue to remain so. This raises serious national security questions for Australia, and calls into question the wisdom of allowing the buildup of such a large, non-assimilating community within our borders.

As R.M. Pearce has noted:

"... the acceptance of large numbers of ethnic Chinese... may present security difficulties in future decades. China, despite its claimed heritage of civilisation, has proved to be most uncivilised in fact. The Chinese have behaved barbarously in terms of liquidating many millions for real or spurious political reasons and in systematic forced abortions. It is not clear how far Chinese territorial ambitions extend or to what extent the Chinese will come to regard themselves as entitled to prescribe policies for South-East Asian countries. Further, the presence of a large Chinese minority in Australia might be perceived by Communist China or a successor as a reason for interfering in Australian affairs. These are serious matters, and should not be disregarded at the behest of political correctness."

http://www.nationalobserver.net/1999_spring_br5.htm

Australians have every reason to be concerned about the growing Chinese influence over Australia.