Greater China and Australia: Past and Prospects

Table of ContentsExecutive Summary4Part A4Comparative snapshot of the Australian economy and the economies of the countries of Greater China4Part B7GDP Growth Rate7Inflation8Current Account Balance as a % of GDP9Interest Rates10Money Supply Growth10Population Growth Rate12Sectoral Shares13Agriculture as a percentage of the economy13Industry as a percentage of the economy13Manufacturing as a percentage of the economy14Services as a percentage of the economy14Unemployment Rate15Exchange Rates16PART C18International trading pattern with Mainland China18Case of Taiwan18Case of Hong Kong19Current Trading Relations19Mainland China19Taiwan20Hong Kong20Prospective Trade Relations20Executive SummaryThe key findings of the report relate to the strengths of Mainland China as a global manufacturing center and a key area of consideration for any Australian company considering a move into regional production. The first preferred location for our plant is Mainland China, this is due to our findings about advantages in key areas, particularly labour costs and the size of the labour pool.

We found that all three countries of greater China were important trading partners with Australia.

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English: A 12 segment panoramic image of the Hong ...

Mainland China

However, our findings in section C were that Mainland China was Australia's most important trading partner on the world stage.

In section A we found that all four countries had stable growing economies. The rate at which Mainland China is growing is greater than the other three countries. In section C the changing nature of the economies is evident, particularly the decline of agriculture in Mainland China's economy and the rise of the service sector in all four economies.

While we found advantages in the legal and political stability in Taiwan and Hong Kong, we concluded in section D that they could not compete with the cost advantages in Mainland China.

Part AComparative snapshot of the Australian economy and the economies of the countries of Greater ChinaAustraliaMainland ChinaTaiwanHong KongPopulation 20,600,8561,330,044,60522,920,9467,018,636Population growth rate (%)10.8010.6290.2380.532Population density(persons per square km)2.61386276508Annual inflation rate2 (%)2.34.51.22.0Unemployment rate...