John Faulkner (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

'There is nothing in Australian history to compare with that China visit.' Those are not my words; they are the words of Dr Stephen Fitzgerald, Australia's pre-eminent authority on China and our first ambassador to the People's Republic of China. He is referring to Gough Whitlam's 1971 mission to Beijing, a mission Whitlam himself described as the most exciting and exacting he ever made. The 21st of December this year will mark 40 years since the Whitlam government formally recognised and established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. Gough Whitlam was the first member of the Australian parliament to call for recognition of the PRC as 'one China' and, in mid-1971, as leader of the Australian Labor Party, he was the first Australian political leader, and one of the first Western leaders, to reach out to China.

It was characteristic Whitlam courage and vision that motivated his politically daring adventure to the Great Hall of the People in Beijing for a midnight meeting with Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai in July 1971. At the time, under the dark cloud of Cold War politics, of the Vietnam War and in the mind of many a contrived threat from China, sections of the Australian community were deeply fearful of the insidious and relentless growth of communism in our region. This was of course the time of 'reds under the bed', when former Prime Minister Menzies ran a fear campaign based on the red and yellow hordes pouring down from Asia, and Billy McMahon warned of the Australian Labor Party being tools of the Chinese communists. The former federal president of the Australian Labor Party and Queensland parliamentarian Tom Burns, who joined Gough Whitlam on that first visit to China, called the visit, in the context of international relations and domestic concerns at the time, 'real gutsy politics'.

After a long journey to Beijing, through Hong Kong and Canton, the travelling party arrived at the Great Hall of the People for a midnight meeting with the Premier. Gough Whitlam sparred diplomatically and intellectually with the renowned Chinese leader Premier Zhou. Differences in views and policies were explained and clarified, and assurances were secured on trade—particularly Australian wheat sales. And, Gough being Gough, discussion with the Chinese Premier was not limited to politics, economics, or trade. Topics ranging from Greek mythology to the French Revolution were also canvassed. A sceptical Liberal Prime Minister back in Australia, Billy McMahon, announced that Zhou 'had Mr Whitlam on a hook and he played him as a fisherman plays a trout'.

But, as they so often do, world events took a dramatic twist—and, as Tommy Burns put it, 'pulled the rug right out from under McMahon's feet'. Four days after Gough Whitlam's visit, US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger arrived in Beijing on a secret mission to meet the Chinese Premier. Secretary Kissinger famously reported back to President Nixon, 'The process we have now started will send shock waves around the world'. It certainly did. On 15 July 1971, President Nixon announced to an astonished world that the United States intended to formally recognise the People's Republic of China and the president would visit Beijing the following year. By October, the General Assembly of the United Nations had decided by more than a two-thirds majority to recognise the PRC. And, to the growing embarrassment of the McMahon government, the People's Republic of China established formal diplomatic relations with Canada, Japan, and 10 European countries, including Great Britain and Germany.

On 5 December 1972, the day the first Whitlam government was sworn in, Gough Whitlam announced that he had instructed our ambassador in Paris to open negotiations with his Chinese counterpart. The joint communique was signed on 21 December, just three weeks after the election. The following year, 1973, strengthening our relationship further, Prime Minister Whitlam met with Chairman Mao in Beijing.

Our relationship with China has come a long way since the formalisation of diplomatic relations 40 years ago. China's economic growth has been phenomenal, and Australia too has enjoyed extraordinary economic growth since 1972. After significant reforms in both countries during the 1980s our terms of trade are burgeoning. But the Australia-China relationship is increasingly deeper and more meaningful than just economics and trade. Our social and cultural relationship grows stronger, with increasing numbers of Chinese students, professionals and tourists visiting our shores every year. Likewise, growing numbers of Australians are heading to China every year.

The Whitlam government's formal diplomatic recognition of China in 1972 was a significant milestone in Australian foreign policy. It was truly visionary and it was the starting point for the flourishing and prosperous relationship we enjoy with China today. The 40th anniversary of formal diplomatic relations between Australia and China, to be celebrated on 21 December this year, is a very important milestone in the history of both countries and I believe it warrants due acknowledgement in this parliament.