Why are Australian firms still doing business with China? Partly to fight climate change, says ACRI report

Name: Talking Post: Kevin Rudd unpacks the risk of war between China and the US with Yonden Lhatoo
Uploaded: 2021-12-08T21:00:16.000Z
Duration: 23 min 20 s
Description: Talking Post: Kevin Rudd unpacks the risk of war between China and the US with Yonden Lhatoo

Despite blowback amid deteriorating political ties, many Australian companies intend to keep up links with the world’s second-largest economy

In a report by the Australia-China Relations Institute, they deny being naive and say they see business opportunities in Beijing’s commitment to clean energy

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The chimney of a coal-fired power plant stands behind a lion statue in Shanghai, China. Photo: Reuters

Su-Lin Tan

Published: 5:00am, 9 Dec 2021Updated: 5:27am, 9 Dec 2021

Australian companies are continuing to do business with China not just for commercial reasons but because of a focus on climate change and carbon emissions reduction policies, new research has found.

Even though political relations between the two countries have sunk to their lowest in decades and Australian firms continue to suffer blowback for doing business with China, many have vowed to keep up their links with the world’s second-largest economy.

Their reasoning is that investment in any market, particularly one as complex as China, needs to be a long-term commitment, according to a new report by the Australia-China Relations Institute (ACRI).

Firms dismissed the notion they had been naive about doing business in and with China, saying they had assessed the risks and were not overexposed to the market, said the report, released on Tuesday.

Some – like Woodside, one of Australia’s largest LNG producers – said they also liked working with China because of its “commitment to cleaner energy”.

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Talking Post: Kevin Rudd unpacks the risk of war between China and the US with Yonden Lhatoo

Woodside’s chief representative in China, Kristine Leo, told ACRI that not only was “China’s commitment to cleaner energy a factor in ensuring a continued market for Woodside’s LNG” but Woodside and its Chinese partners shared common climate goals.