Australian scholars push to rekindle interest in China

A guest tries Chinese calligraphy while attending the China Culture Day. CHU CHEN/XINHUA

The past 20 years has seen a steady decline in the number of Australian students enrolling in China Studies, with academics expressing concern the country is slipping behind in its efforts to better understand its biggest trading partner.

Professor David Goodman, director of the China Studies Centre at Sydney University, said that all 84 of the center's PhD students were from overseas, with 82 of them Chinese nationals.

"The course brings together the vast variety of experiences in China such as social sciences, humanities and engineering," Goodman said.

The drop in enrollments of Australian students has taken place as research grants for China Studies and academic exchanges have also fallen.

In a letter to the Australian Research Council in May, 60 China Studies scholars from 22 universities in Australia expressed their concern about the decline in funding grants.

The letter cited the 2023 "Australia's China Knowledge Capability" research report, which said there are "serious questions" about generating "direct knowledge of China, informed by world-class understanding of how China operates".

"Australia's capacity to produce cutting edge research on China is currently at crisis point, precisely at a time when that knowledge is most sorely needed," the letter said.

In the 1990s, Australia produced "outstanding China scholarship" that was recognized internationally, the letter noted.

One of the letter's signatories was Australian Sinologist Colin Mackerras, professor emeritus at Griffith University in Australia and a fellow of the Australian Academy of Humanities. Mackerras said in an interview with China Daily it was "terribly sad" to see how far China Studies had declined in Australia.

"Education builds better relations between nations. It goes without saying," said Mackerras, who for more than 60 years has been at the forefront of China-Asian studies in Australia and has also frequently taught in China.

"Through education you get an understanding of the culture and history of a people. In turn, this helps build bridges between people," he added.

In June, the Colin Mackerras Chair in Australian Studies Program was established in Beijing to honor the professor's contribution to the educational and intellectual exchanges between China and Australia.

The program was jointly launched by the Australian Studies Center at Beijing Foreign Studies University, where Mackerras has taught multiple times since the 1960s, and the Foundation for Australian Studies in China.