A Probe Into Australia 's Foreign Policy Towards China In The 21st Century

Australia and Asia are geographically close neighbors. However, the Australianhistory and culture are closely linked with the west, which makes Australia’s foreignpolicy toward China sometimes seem ambiguous. Just as many Australians often do notknow their identity, Australian government also performed waveringly in dealing with itsrelations with its Asian neighbors and traditional allies. Although the Australiangovernment has repeatedly stressed that Australia can gain from their interaction throughhistory and geography without having to make a choice between the two, Australia hasbeen facing difficulties in and challenges from external relations. From Keating’s"integrated into Asia" to Howard’s "Asia-the non-unique" then to Rudd’s "mediumpower", the focus of Australia’s foreign policy has undergone great changes, but itsforeign policy has always served the national core interests. Australia’s China policyevolves under the influence of national strategies and national interests.In the21stcentury, Australia’s China policy presents the world with complexity. Theatmosphere of bilateral relations experienced remarkable changes from the coldness towarmth and then being hot. Thanks to the joint efforts by both sides, bilateral relationshave been restored and improved, and embarked on a normal track. Based on the analysisof Australia’s China policy changing process, this paper intends to find out main factorsthat influence the development of bilateral relations and aim at forecasting the prospect ofthe two countries.