Australia needs China amid global tariff tensions
By Digby James Wren | China Daily | Updated: 2025-04-08 07:1
Image Trump Tariffs by Li Min/China Daily 
The 2025 Australian federal election occurs at a pivotal moment, as the country navigates the complexities of global alliances, economic resilience and domestic priorities. Amid escalating US-China tensions, resurgent protectionism, and climate crises, the election is sure to shape Australia's geopolitical alignment and policy trajectory.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's Labor Party government faces scrutiny over trade disputes and cost-of-living pressures, while opposition leader Peter Dutton's Coalition positions itself as a defender of economic security. Moreover, Australia's economic interdependence with China looms large, testing the political parties' strategies to ensure economic growth and improve the deteriorating living standards.
The reimposition of US tariffs on Australian steel and aluminium in 2024 has strained Canberra-Washington relations. After US President Donald Trump declared a US economic emergency and announced tariffs of at least 10 percent for all countries on April 2, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that the decision to impose a 10 percent tariff on its ally was "not the act of a friend", but ruled out reciprocal tariffs against the US. In comments outside the White House, Trump singled out Australian beef, which saw a surge in exports to the United States last year, reaching A$4 billion amid a slump in US beef production.
The US' move underscored the fragility of traditional alliances especially in light of Donald Trump's transactional approach during his first term as US president.
Dutton has claimed he could "change the (US) president's mind" if elected, but analysts have dismissed it as unrealistic. "If we couldn't secure an exemption for steel, what's next?" said political analyst Patricia Gellis.
Australia's attempt to leverage critical minerals such as lithium as bargaining chips faltered. Australian Resources Minister Madeleine King lamented, "We offered lithium and rare earths, but the US said we weren't offering anything new." Trade Minister Don Farrell framed the dispute pragmatically: "Tariffs on Aussie beef will spike Big Mac prices. That's how you get Trump's attention."
Equally important, China's role as Australia's largest trading partner — accounting for 30 percent of exports which include iron ore, coal and education services — remains a linchpin of economic stability. Economic analyst John K has warned that, "Global market selloffs from Trump's trade wars hurt Australia more than direct tariffs. We're caught in a US-China crossfire."
The AUKUS (Australia-United Kingdom-United States) pact remains contentious, with Greens leader Adam Bandt labeling it a "Trump-shaped target on Australia's back". Bandt criticized the $368 billion submarine deal as "outsourcing defense to a volatile US", advocating instead for climate resilience and cyber defense investments.
However, Albanese defended AUKUS, saying it is "the bedrock of regional security". And Dutton claimed it is essential to deter Chinese aggression, asserting, "Without these submarines, we're defenceless."
Amid all this, internal dissent has emerged within the Labor Party, with former senator Doug Cameron asking why Australia should fund US naval projects while facing tariffs. The debate reflects broader tensions over balancing security ties with the US and economic benefits of trade with China. The debate prompted political analyst John Paul Jany to warn that, "Relying on Trump to defend Taiwan is a gamble. AUKUS exposes our dependence, but alienating China risks economic fallout."
Australia's economy remains deeply intertwined with China's, which absorbs 80 percent of its iron ore exports and sustains critical sectors such as education and tourism. Despite political friction over security concerns, bilateral trade hit A$300 billion (US$188.79 billion) in 2023. In fact, Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers has acknowledged that, "We can't decouple (with China) overnight. Diversification is a decade-long project."
However, vulnerabilities persist. China's 2020 trade sanctions on barley, wine and coal highlighted the risks of following the US to launch trade attacks against China.
As for the election, rising energy prices (forecast to increase by 9 percent in Australia's eastern states) dominate voter concerns. While the Greens push for renewables, China's advanced tech and manufacturing prowess in solar panel, electric vehicle and battery supply chains underpins Australia's green transition. However, Australian Energy Minister Chris Bowen has emphasized the importance of strengthening local manufacturing: "We need sovereign capabilities, not just Chinese imports."
In the education and tourism fields, Chinese students and tourists contributed about A$40 billion a year to the Australian economy before the COVID-19 pandemic, but geopolitical tensions and slower visa approvals have hampered the recovery of the two sectors, which led to Universities Australia CEO Catriona Jackson warning, "We're losing market share to Canada and the UK. This isn't just about revenue — it's about soft power."
Albanese's Labor Party focuses on providing cost-of-living relief (energy rebates, childcare subsidies) for the people and taking climate action (43 percent emissions reduction by 2030). Labor's slogan, "Steady Leadership in Uncertain Times", is aimed at reassuring voters of the ruling party's commitment to improving the overall situation amid rising US-China tensions.
On the other hand, Dutton's Coalition platform blends tax cuts, nuclear energy advocacy and hawkish rhetoric on China. The slogan, "Back to Basics: Economy and Security", targets regional voters reliant on mining exports to China, while promising to "stand up to Beijing" on security. Critics argue the Coalition's stance is contradictory, with Patricia Gellis saying: "You can't threaten sanctions on China while begging them to buy your iron ore."
Moreover, the Greens advocate reducing trade dependence on China through localized manufacturing and promoting renewables, while Teal independents are pushing for transparency in foreign investments. But both groups face scrutiny over the feasibility of decoupling.
The 2025 Australian election transcends party politics, serving as a referendum on Australia's economic strategy in a fragmented world. Albanese's critique of US tariffs and Dutton's "Trump-proof Australia" mantra underscore the precariousness of alliances, while economic benefits from trade ties with China remain an inescapable reality, providing both stability and growth opportunities.
Domestically, urgent investments are required to boost Australia's energy transition and education diversification. Externally, AUKUS and trade tensions are testing Australia's ability to balance sovereignty with interdependence. As John K said, "The world watches as Australia redefines its place." Whether through Labor's pragmatism, the Coalition's nationalism, or the Greens' idealism, the election result will shape Australia's pursuit of economic resilience in an era of major-power rivalry.
The author is chair, Belt and Road Capital Partners — A Geopolitical Risk, Trade and Investment and Education Partnership Advisory Firm with offices in China, Europe, ASEAN and Australia.
The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
China achieves breakthrough in solar-powered water splitting for hydrogen production
Xinhua | Updated: 2025-04-08 15:41 in ChinaDaily
SHENYANG -- French sci-fi author Jules Verne predicted about 150 years ago that water would become the fuel of the future. Today, scientists are striving to turn this fantasy into reality.
Chinese researchers recently achieved a breakthrough in "photocatalytic water splitting for hydrogen production." By performing "structural reshaping" and "element substitution" on a
semiconductor material, they significantly enhanced the efficiency of converting water into clean hydrogen energy by using sunlight.
Current solar-driven hydrogen production primarily relies on two methods -- one uses solar panels to generate electricity for water electrolysis, which requires complex and costly equipment, while the other employs semiconductor materials as catalysts to directly split water molecules under sunlight, according to Liu Gang, director of the Institute of Metal Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and leader of the research team.
The key to directly splitting water with sunlight lies in a material called titanium dioxide. When exposed to sunlight, it functions like a microscopic power plant, generating energized electron-hole pairs that break down water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen, Liu explained.
However, traditional titanium dioxide has a critical flaw -- its internal structure resembles a maze, causing the activated electrons and holes to collide randomly and recombine and annihilate within a millionth of a second. Additionally, the high-temperature fabrication process of the material often leads to oxygen atom loss, creating positively charged "trap zones" that capture electrons.
Liu's team addressed these issues by introducing scandium, a rare-earth element neighboring titanium on the periodic table, to restructure the material.
Scandium ions, similar in size to titanium ions, fit perfectly into the titanium dioxide lattice without causing structural distortion. Their stable valence neutralizes the charge imbalance caused by oxygen vacancies, eliminating "trap zones." Moreover, scandium atoms reconstruct the crystal surface, creating specific facets that act like "electronic highways and overpasses," allowing electrons and holes to escape the maze efficiently.
Through precise control, the research team successfully developed a specialized titanium dioxide material with significantly enhanced performance -- its utilization of ultraviolet light exceeded 30 percent, and its hydrogen production efficiency under simulated sunlight was 15 times higher than previously reported titanium dioxide materials, setting a new record, Liu stated.
"If used to create a one-square-meter photocatalytic material panel, around 10 liters of hydrogen can be produced in one day of sunlight," Liu said.
The achievement was published in the latest issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
"We aim to further improve the technology to enable efficient utilization of visible light in sunlight," Liu revealed.
He also noted that China currently accounts for over 50 percent of global titanium dioxide production, supported by a robust industrial chain. Additionally, China ranks among the world's leaders in terms of scandium reserves.
"With continued advancements in photocatalytic water-splitting efficiency, this technology holds promise for industrial application, and could drive the transformation of energy systems," Liu added.
Save Australia in 2025
Well, the following was written with the assumption that I could get my daughter to get a couple of hundred contemporaries to join her in making up a new government for Australia. Unfortunately she was not interested so the country will continue on its wayward path.
Hence the following was and is relevant but The Family of All Life Alliance is not going to be the saviour of the country this election. So you are reading what I hoped to happen.
Australia needs help.
What is there to be proud of if your ancestors were a dirty, smelly, hungry, cantankerous, walkabout people who assaulted and murdered their women and ate excess children?
Very little.
So you need to hide the truth and start a new picture of them as having a worthy culture and possessing numerous valued characteristics in the field of science which because they had no written language cannot be disputed.
In other words promote them with an excess of bullshit.
Unfortunately for the descendants of the folk who have transformed the country into a most desirable environment in which to live a vocal minority believe the bullshit and espouse it as being the truth.
Even more unfortunately the descendants of the Stone Age originals are brought up to believe the lies and hence have unrealistic expectations of what they are owed from the descendants of the arrivals in 1788 and later.
In Australia at present the ruling political party are promoting the bullshit and even more concerning is that the alternative rulers are endorsing similar nonsense.
Hence the time has come for a party that knows the bullshit is bullshit.
And we have that party in the form of The Family of All Life Alliance.
Australia is the Land of Wannabe Relevant and World Important.
Our leader amply demonstrates the truth of this comment with his wandering around the world stage including supporting the complaining comedian instead of fixing problems at home .
The electorate demonstrated it by succumbing to the nonsense of Australia’s CO2 emissions affecting world climate change. This has resulted in the electorate deciding Labor can do a better job running Australia as well as electing a swath of independents with this as their prime platform.
The next election is in a year. The damage done by then can be undone if Australians become more sensible.
The real change Australia could make which would affect Climate warming is to cease thermal coal extraction but it needs to provide alternative industry for the affected areas such as growing hemp and producing bioplastics.
Other nonsense that needs to be addressed includes not having nuclear power stations.
Completely inappropriate treaties are in the wind. They are based on ignorance. Aboriginal people in Australia do not know what their life was like prior to the First Fleet so they cannot appreciate the enormously better lifestyle they have had since it arrived. The education of Aboriginal people about Stone Age life should be a prime requirement of schools because by remaining ignorant about it they have inappropriate expectations and a complete lack of gratitude of having been rescued from it.
Read more here.
Comments about South Korea
This was written ten years ago and unfortunately is still relevant today. The numbers have not been changed and hence are relevant to ten years ago.
A few comments about South Korea that relate to the budget
We need to emulate a few South Korean ideas.
The first idea would be in relation to the fact that Sydney has a public housing waiting list of 59,500.
What are the advantages of constructing new public housing?
More jobs.
More demand for housing materials.
More happy renters.
I was in South Korea for four years and 60% of the population preferred apartment living to living in detached houses. Some of the apartment buildings are 21 stories tall. Most are not that tall. They take a long time to construct and house around 500 families each. They did not have a problem with graffiti, but probably they believe in corporal punishment. You would need to have cameras everywhere and a suitable punishment system in place before you followed their lead in this regard. However 100 towers in 2 years and you have solved the current problem. Obviously you would need to get a lot of Korean engineers to come to show you what to do.
Looking at the housing we have in Australia and the problem it creates by causing cities to be spread over ridiculous areas I want you to contemplate again the 60% of Koreans who prefer apartment living. The cities in Australia need to start going up instead of more out.
Get on Google maps and put the following address in the search box.
Pyeongnae-dong, Namyangju-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
Notice the forest of 21 storey apartment buildings. There is a similar forest just to the north.
Notice that the subway station is 200m long. When you visit Korea you must make sure you get on the subway and explore Seoul.
The subway reaches there since we lived in Naegak-ri. They had just started building the first 21 storey apartment building in our village. That was 2003. Put the following address in Google maps and see how many apartment buildings have been put up in the last twelve years. Since we were there they have apparently built a highway to cope with the increased traffic.
Naegak-ri, Jinjeop-eup, Namyangju-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
You will also have noticed the huge amount just north of the village. That amount alone would probably solve the Sydney public housing problem. I assume you also noticed that all this construction has taken place about 20 km from Seoul. Note that – only 20 km. When we were there Seoul had 16 million people.
The second idea would be with respect to electricity generation. While Australia is 75 times the size of South Korea the comparison with the more densely populated areas such as the East Coast of Australia makes the density contrast to be much less. Ten years ago nuclear power stations made up 29% of their electricity generation capacity. However it constituted 50% of their actual production as it was the source that was always working so made up the base load. They have four power stations with 24 reactors around the coast. We would not need as many to produce a big percentage of our electricity and fix our carbon problem.
After living near Seoul we were in Gwangju which is 290 km south of Seoul. About 90 minutes from Gwangju there is a nuclear power station I visited. There are 6 reactors. Each produces 1,000 MW. Hence a total of 6,000 MW. It occupies an area similar to that of the solar power station near Canberra that was recently in the news which produces 20 MW. Another has just been announced that will produce 50 MW. The Chinese can have a nuclear power station operating 4 years after they start construction. If we are serious about doing something about our carbon emissions we can have several nuclear reactors up and running before 2020.
The third relates to priorities. They have about 50 million people and are world leaders in car making, ship building and electronics. The government favours industry rather than the people. Social services is poor compared to Australia. They have no resources and yet have loads of industry. We have all the resources and no industry. Somehow we need to swap things around so this country starts adding value to its exports before sending them overseas.
Ungrateful Week
The Ungrateful Week items that you can read to see their history of ingratitude.
Ungrateful Week time
Suggestions for which week this year we should have Ungrateful Week in Australia to demonstrate the many ways the previously Stone Age people have shown their lack of appreciation of being brought up to date by the First Fleet arriving and having clothes, a regular food supply, transport other than by foot, houses other than a few twigs over a broken branch, protection from neighbours who make a habit of killing your rellies, all babies making it to adulthood instead of being knocked on the head if number two or three, to mention some of the things they apparently reject.
Ungrateful Week needs to be sufficiently distant from the other weeks which celebrate Aboriginal Australians. From the above your observation is “about what?” but just ensure the new week is at a different time.
Please email me your suggested times.
Australia Day 2026
Invasion alternative
There are lots of national parks in Australia where nature is dominant and which should be the destination of all Aboriginal people participating in the Invasion Day marches.
All such people should be identified.
They should then be relocated to an appropriate national park in the circumstances they would have had if the First Fleet had not arrived with the assumption that having not advanced in twenty two million days the intervening ninety thousand days would have made no difference.
Hence on reaching the park these people would get naked, given a spear and boomerang, and told to go walking.
There would be no money provided, or transport, or food, or homes or anything else representative of the Australia they hate and which was provided in 1788 by the English.
What a saving.
What a relief.
No more complaining Ungratefuls.
