Australia and China ‘On the Road to Diverse Ties and Local Engagement' Reflections from the 2021 ACELS 12 Summit

Mia Castagnone was elected as a delegate for the 2021 Australia-China Emerging Leaders Summit. She reflects on the events and panels that took place across the three day summit.

The Australia-China Emerging Leaders Summit (ACELS) is a bi-annual conference and the signature initiative of the Australia China Youth Association (ACYA). Traditionally attended in-person in Australia and China, the ACELS 12 conference ran online late last January. Despite the loss of in-person connection, the ACYA National Committee pulled together what was an engaging and well-organised 3-day programme that included panels, activities, cooking classes and networking opportunities. 

Each day of the summit held a specific focus. The Day 1 panel focused on trade and technology, Day 2 politics and diplomacy and Day 3 the environment and sister-city collaboration. 

Until we have certainty, business will remain on rocky waters

One of the major topics over the summit was the impact COVID-19 has had on trade. Mr Paul Sanda, the Deputy Consul-General and Senior Trade Investment Commissioner at the Australian Consulate General, expressed that there was a real need from Australia and China to have a strong understanding and awareness of each other. In Australia, quite often our knowledge of Chinese customs and culture is highly superficial and anything we can do to arrive at a more in depth understanding of one another’s culture is of great importance to the two-way relationship.

In the last year we have learnt to celebrate the strength of Australia and China’s people to people relations, which has endured during the pandemic. I learnt from this panel that business between Australia and China is still being done and this has been facilitated by the hard work that is occurring to keep lines of communication open. During uncertainty, communication is vital. Big challenges facing business are grappling with the uncertainty of borders and misinformation. Nevertheless, sentiment toward Australian business remains high.

The silver lining for the trade industry is that COVID has taught us to be innovative and creative to be able to give investors confidence in online solutions.  

“Diplomacy starts with common sense,” Prof. Baogang He.  

Day 2 was kicked off with the panel “Diplomacy and Politics in the 21st Century”, which was undeniably the most interesting and contentious panel of the conference; it brought out the most engagement from delegates and the only reservation I hold about this panel is that I wished it had gone on longer. 

Professor Baogang He, fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, explained that diplomacy should start with more common sense and less ideology. It isn’t about framing China as evil, rather we should look at how our neighbours deal with China, e.g. Singapore, New Zealand and Japan.

A key takeaway that seemed to be a shared sentiment was that younger people especially need to develop a deeper connection with our neighbours and these understandings will lead to less misunderstandings. Cultural intimacy is important. Mr He expressed that overall, both sides need to better understand each other in order to reduce misunderstandings and suspicions. 

Professor Jocelyn Chey, from the Australia China Institute for Arts and Culture, has worked for more than 20 years on Australia-China relations, expressed that bilateral ties must focus on people to people links. 

“We cannot just preserve what we’ve built over decades, but we can use it as a base to restore what we have today,” Prof. Jocelyn Chey.

Once again during the summit there was an emphasis on how obtaining a strong education of each other that goes beyond shallow understandings, can help foster strong relationships. The media landscape in Australia, has also become a holder of public opinion and influence on policy forming, which is hindering, and even dismantling, the Australia-China relationship

“Murdoch and Packer dominate the media scene in Australia and this is hindering us from making diplomatic policy with China,” Prof. Jocelyn Chey.

Soure: author. The ACELS 12 summit brings together young leaders to join panels and workshops

Any sister relationship can be made, but making them last is the key.

A lasting sentiment was that sister city relationships can be made, but making them last is the key. This happens when you nail the cultural and economic benefits of the relationship. 

The issues with sister city relationships is when we lose the relevancy of them. Not only do programmes between sister cities need to be implemented but their relevance must be maintained. However, there are opportunities to fill the knowledge gaps about Australia in China. Jack Qian, the founder of the GVI, explained there are opportunities particularly in STEM for collaboration between Australia and China and the future of our relationship will be dependent upon maintaining these relationships in the industry. The longevity of collaborative projects in STEM will require high levels of people connection. 

Workshopping...

Apart from panels, the summit involved workshops where delegates collaborated on set tasks. The tasks highlighted the importance of people-to-people connections as well as innovation. Even though we were communicating via zoom breakout rooms, the workshops were well organised and allowed for delegates to better know one another while collaborating in light-hearted activities. One of these activities was a virtual cooking class where we made spring rolls- and when food is involved you know it's going to be good! 

Source: author. Sydney based delegates meeting together to attend the online conference

Final thoughts...
This was my first year being a delegate for ACELS and I was thrilled to have been a part of ACELS 12. Having friends in Sydney to meet with made it all the more enjoyable. In these uncertain circumstances technology has been our friend. The breakout room activities during the summit effortlessly facilitated conversation. People I met in those break out rooms, I was able to connect with via WeChat and Linkedin. The takeaway I gained from this is that in all areas of life, and across all industries, we need people to people connection and until our worlds reach a more certain place, digital technology can continue to be the bridge the gap between one another.