Best of 2025 - Lack of China capability can only do harm to society: Our current situation is a disgrace |
In March 2023, the Australian Academy of the Humanities sounded the alarm on the decline in our understanding and knowledge of China through a report on “ Australia’s China Knowledge Capability”.
A repost from 13 October 2025
Several other journals, including this one, also expressed dismay at the decline of learning Chinese at Australia’s schools and universities since the first years of the 21st century, when the Howard Government cut off funds earlier allocated to funding Asian languages and studies at primary and secondary level. How could we allow understanding of so important a neighbour decline for so long without effective remedial action?
On 22 September 2025, at the behest of Minister for Education Jason Clare, the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education adopted an inquiry into building Asia capability in Australia through the education system and beyond. What this signified is that even the government was concerned that Australia would lack Asia capability, including China capability, in the forthcoming period. The situation has worsened since 2023.
Personally, I hope that this inquiry will yield good results and lead to a regrowth in the number of students with a real knowledge and understanding of Asia, especially China. Unfortunately, I don’t have the answers or the solutions. But here are a few reasons why I’m sceptical about the prospects.
Firstly, the Trump administration has specifically cut off some........