Leader’s Foreign Policy Orientation And Australia’s Diplomacy To China(1996-2014)

As in recent years, a microcosm of the increasingly close political and economic ties in Australia and China is the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership in November 2014,beside that,the FTA negotiations between these two country have substantive completed, all these marking the bilateral relations entered a new period of development. China is increasing interest in Australia, Australia on the importance of China’s overall diplomacy layout rising.So studies Australia’s Diplomacy logic not only is important doctrinal, but also has great practical value.As a middle power, especially has a long distance to China, Australia’s foreign policy in the United States apparent color (refer to Australia’s foreign policy significantly affected by the United States), China-related interests in the Oceania region was weak, making the domestic Research Australia’s foreign policy has always been in the position of not only the more marginal, and often stylized into the analytical framework. Namely that because Australia’s alliance with the United States, and Australia in security obvious dependence on the United States, making Australia’s major foreign policy guidelines will be affected the United States, the development of Sino-Australian relations are no exceptions. Due to the development in Australia in recent years, mainly driven by increasingly close bilateral economic and trade ties, and therefore the prospects for developing bilateral relations will depend largely on competition in the Australian economic relations and security relations between the United States and Australia.This analysis perspective obviously underestimated the Australian Government’s initiative and is not consistent with the facts. In fact, we will see that in the time period discussed in this paper (1996-2014), the Sino-Australian relations and Australia-US relations have shown significant changes in the characteristics and the same stage of development. Specifically, in the latter part of the Howard administration, bilateral relations, the Sino-Australian relations,Australian-US relations have achieved great development; in Rudd’s reign, Sino-Australian relations, Australian and US relations have suffered serious setbacks and even retrogression; reign in Girard, Sino-Australian relations, Australian and US relations have gained restoration and development. This phenomenon reminds us that in the development of Sino-Australian relations, foreign policy orientation is more important factors than Sino-Australian economic and trade ties, Australian-US security alliance.The reason for this phenomenon, this paper considers the following factors:First, the Australian property as a middle power, it only has access to safe and economic interests attached under the wings of a big country needs, but also has in international affairs, especially regional affairs and play a major influence on the strength and will. Second, since the late Howard ruling has not been serious competition and confrontation between China and the US, which makes Australia do not have to choose sides between China and the US, but also for Australia to play their own diplomatic initiative to provide the conditions. Third, Australia’s foreign policy decision-making mechanism allows individuals to formulate foreign policy, the Prime Minister has a huge influence, which not only makes the Australian Government’s foreign policy has a significant stage with the prime minister is always a relative term, but volatility is higher. When the leaders of the personal satisfaction in the development of national economic and security interests, conservative stance on foreign policy, the development of bilateral relations and the Australia-US relationship is relatively smooth; on the contrary, when it affects their pursuit of a big country, China-Australia relations and Australia-US relations will be twists and turns appear.Based on the above, the paper argues that the future development of bilateral relations, we should note the following:First, continue to deepen economic and trade exchanges between China and Australia, which is the basis of Sino-Australian relations; secondly, understanding the Australian-US security alliance in a correct way,and understanding the personal qualities of the leaders of Australia and its foreign policy orientation make a huge role in the development of China-Australia relations; third, the leaders of the radical move to Australia in its outcrop resolutely crack down on stage, maintain the overall situation of Sino-Australian relations stable and healthy development.