Attending President Xi Jinping’s Speech
to the Australian National Parliament
Colin Mackerras
One of the best and most meaningful experiences of my life was to attend the speech
delivered by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the Australian National Parliament in Canberra on
Monday 17 November 2014.
The Context
President Xi visited Australia in November 2014 for a range of purposes. Firstly, he attended
the G20 meeting in Brisbane, where he took part in the meeting of major world leaders.
Apart from him, these included President Barack Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin,
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, French President François Hollande, German Chancellor
Angela Merkel and Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott. It was the first time Brisbane had
hosted such a meeting but, other than turning on a blisteringly hot day (maximum 39
degrees), it did quite a good job. As a resident of Brisbane, I admit I avoided the inner city
where the meetings took place, but some of the volunteers at the Tourism Confucius Institute
I have the honour to work in went in to show their welcome of President Xi.
Another main function of President Xi’s visit was to improve Australia-China relations, finalize
a China-Australia Free-Trade Agreement and make better friends with Tony Abbott. He did this
not only at the G20 but in Canberra. As well he visited Tasmania, where he welcomed some
young Anglo-Australian students who had written him a personal letter in Chinese.
The third and related function was to give a major speech to both houses of the Australian
National Parliament in Canberra. It was this speech I was fortunate enough to attend. The two
houses are the House of Representatives and the Senate. Only once before has a Chinese
president or other leader addressed these two houses, namely President Hu Jintao in October
2003.
Before discussing the speech, which is my focus in this report, I just comment that President
Xi’s visit was in all ways triumphantly successful. Australia-China relations are much better
following his visit, with greater trust on both sides. In Australia, the Press was almost
universally positive about the visit with President Xi getting laudatory reports. For example,
the conservative commentator Paul Kelly noted in The Australian (19 November 2014) as
follows:
The visit by China’s President, Xi Jinping to Australia is one of the most important
foreign visits to this nation in decades. Xi has come with a vision of bilateral
relations that reflects an astute appreciation by China. The Australia-China
relationship has huge potential for growth and both sides want that realised.
1
It was also very ironical that some of the Press praised President Xi, but criticized Obama,
whose speech at the University of Queensland criticized the Australian government for not
looking after the Great Barrier Reef properly. It is possible that Australia is veering away from
the US and towards China.
The Speech
A couple of days before the speech, I got a phone-call from the Chinese Consulate-general in
Brisbane saying that they had received instructions from China to arrange for a special
invitation for me. The next day the Chinese Embassy told me they would ask the Department
of Prime Minister and Cabinet in Canberra to invite me. The invitation arrived very soon
afterwards. I had heard on the grapevine that President Xi might mention me in the speech,
but did not have any details.
The speech itself was brilliant. It focused on China’s peaceful role in the world. It was
reassuring, told of China’s successes in its rise so far, but without bragging or giving an
impression of a country that could be in any way threatening. It included the term
“comprehensive strategic partnership” (quanmian zhanlüe huoban 全面战略伙伴) to
describe the Australia-China relationship. It was the first time a Chinese president had used
such a term for this particular bilateral relationship, and it was one also backed up by Tony
Abbott. It is a strong term and betokens a warm relationship characterized by a considerable
degree of trust.
The manner of President Xi’s presentation was interesting, amusing and confident. I had heard
him speak before, in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, but not at such close quarters as in
the Parliament.
He did mention me, and in much greater detail than I had expected. I was actually bowled over
by the honour he paid me and by how much he knew. He even mentioned the birth of my son
Stephen. He had obviously taken quite a bit of interest in what I had done, and obtained very
concrete information. Here is what he said about me in full. The Chinese original is followed by
the official translator of the simultaneous interpreter.
今天，我们很高兴地邀请到了格里菲斯大学的马克林教授。1964年，马克林教授
首次赴华任教。半个世纪来，马克林教授60多次访华，在亲历中国发展进步的同
时，孜孜不倦向澳大利亚和世界介绍中国的真实情况。特别值得一提的是，马克
林教授的儿子斯蒂芬是中华人民共和国成立以来在中国出生的第一个澳大利亚公
民。可以说，马克林教授以不懈努力和真挚热情，为两国人民相知相亲搭建起一
座桥梁。今年9月，马克林教授荣获中国政府“友谊奖”。我要对你及众多澳大利亚
人士为中澳友好作出的贡献，表示诚挚的谢意！
I am delighted to see that Professor Colin Mackerras, of Griffith University, is with us
today. In 1964, Professor Mackerras went to China for the first time. Over the past five
decades he has visited China over 60 times and made tireless efforts to present a real
2
China to Australia and the world based on his personal experience of China’s
development and progress. It is worth mentioning that his son Stephen was the first
Australian national born In China since the founding of the People’s Republic in 1949.
With his unremitting efforts and devotion, Professor Mackerras has built a bridge of
mutual understanding and amity between our people. Last September he was conferred
the Friendship Award by the Chinese Government. Professor Mackerras, I wish to
express deep appreciation to both you and many other Australians for what you have
done to enhance the friendship between our two countries.
I have to say that I am immensely grateful to President Xi for this comment. For me it
represents the affirmation of my China life, it is the crowning of my career. One of my friends
said to me: “You can’t go beyond a detailed mention in the Australian Parliament by the
Chinese President. It doesn’t get better than that.” And at the end of his mention of me, there
was a round of applause in the Parliament. I was sitting in the gallery to President Xi’s left, so
he could not see me. However, several government ministers waved to me, and the Australian
Ambassador Frances Adamson nodded in agreement with what he said.
The Dinner
The same evening, there was a State Dinner for President Xi. All the members of the
Parliament and a few other senior personages were invited. I was also invited. Of course I
wanted to meet President Xi. There was an Australian official trying to prevent too many
people from seeing the President. However, a member of the Chinese Embassy told her that I
was the one that President Xi had mentioned in his speech, so she let me through and we
exchanged smiles.
My meeting with the President was brief. We congratulated and greeted each other. However,
despite its brevity, it was very meaningful for me. He is charming and charismatic and made a
big impression on me. I can’t exaggerate how delighted I was that he chose to highlight my
career in his speech. My only regret is that I was unable to get a picture of our meeting. It was
too crowded and too short.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that President Xi’s visit to Australia has greatly benefited the bilateral
relationship. He said he would visit Tasmania, because it was the only state or territory in
Australia he had not been to, and he did go there. I felt a bit of a reflection of my own
experience. In July 2014 I visited Heilongjiang for an Australian Studies conference there. It
was at the time the only province I had not been to, so now my score is complete, just as his is
in Australia. For me that is an extra bond with him.
If President Xi Jinping thinks I have done good work for Australia-China relations, then my
reaction is not only to thank him but that I should do more, much more, in the future. And
that’s precisely what I’m going to try to do.
3