The NSW-China economic relationship in 2018

James Laurenceson, Deputy Director, Australia-China Relations Institute, University of Technology Sydney

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1. Over the past year the value of NSW goods exports to China is $8.1 billion. This is a record high.  China accounts for 17.4 percent of NSW total goods exports, and is:[1]

• 0.7 times that to Japan;
• 2.1 times that to Korea; and
• 3.0 times that to the US.

2. The annual value of NSW goods exports to China increased by $1.8 billion in the past five years.  During the same period NSW goods exports to:[2]

• Japan increased by $1.7 billion;
• Korea increased by $0.8 billion; and
• the US increased by 0.8 billion.

3. The annual value of NSW agriculture, forestry and fishing exports to China is $1.1 billion. This compares with:[3]

• $62.7 million to Japan;
• $31.8 million to Korea; and
• $7.9 million to the US

4. The annual value of NSW mining exports to China is $3.5 billion. This compares with:[4]

• $9.1 billion to Japan;
• $2.2 billion to Korea; and
• $1.0 million to the US.

5. The annual value of NSW manufacturing exports to China is $3.1 billion. This compares with:[5]

• $1.5 billion to Japan;
• $1.0 billion to Korea; and
• $2.6 billion to the US.

6. Services exports are a major income earner for NSW – worth $35.7 billion in 2017. Topping the list are education and tourism.[6] There are currently 69,407 Chinese nationals studying in NSW.  This is 38.0 percent of all Chinese students in Australia, and compares with:[7]

• 2,812 from Japan;
• 8,623 from Korea; and
• 3,247 from the US.

7. NSW had 776,000 visitors from China in 2017. This compares with:[8]

• 166,000 from Japan;
• 221,000 from Korea; and
• 457,000 from the US.

While accounting for 18.7 percent of visitors to NSW, those from China accounted for 31 percent of total visitor expenditure.[9] 

8. Chinese investment in NSW in 2017 totalled $5.6 billion. This was 42 percent of all Chinese investment in Australia.[10]

Author

Professor James Laurenceson, Deputy Director, Australia-China Relations Institute, University of Technology Sydney