Is Common Destiny with Australia Possible When the CCP Still Rules China: From the Perspective of Values and Ways of Life

Abstract

The root cause of the deterioration of the relationship between Australia and China in recent years is often assumed or portrayed to be the difference between values and ways of life. By checking values and ways of life in analytical categories such as democracy, market capitalism, individualism, law and order and governance with evidence-based reality, the chapter aims to show that China and indeed the Chinese do not have many fundamental differences with Australia or Australians, at least not in aspiration. The chapter further argues that the CCP has been the promoter of, not the obstacles to, progressive modern value. The chapter then moves on to argue that it is the geopolitics, largely dictated by the US, that has given rise to the hostility between the two countries. One inherent conclusion from this analysis is that common destiny with Australia is possible even when the CCP still rules China.