Dirk van der Kley is a Research Associate in the Lowy Institute's East Asia Program.
Last night, the inaugural Lowy Institute-Rio Tinto China Fellow, Professor Zha Daojiong of Peking University, gave a lively presentation on Chinese investment in Australia. Zha is one of China's leading international policy scholars.
The talk touched on some controversial issues in the debate, such as the geostrategic considerations of investment. Zha didn't shy away from the topic of state-owned enterprises either, explaining why they are so poorly understood in China as well as Australia.
Professor Zha also gave food for thought about the direction of the investment relationship, saying it would be useful to see a less eventful relationship with a focus on investor track-record rather than country of origin or ownership structure.
