Some good thinking on the US-China-Australia relationship

In today's The Australian, two prominent Australians have given their thoughts on how to fit in with Australia's two most important partners.

John Howard, former Prime Minister, believes that the Australian debate about choosing between the US and China is "infantile." His view is that the fascination with China and its economic size misses a big point--that it is GDP per capita that is the important measure of prosperity. On that metric, Mr. Howard says, China has a long way to go.  

Kim Beazley, former head of the Labor Party and presently Australian Ambassador to the US, places his emphasis on investment opportunities. He notes that the mutual investment between Australia and the US is over $1 TRILLION. China may be Australia's major trading partner, but the US is her major investment partner. He also cites the recent US energy discoveries and nearing energy independence as reasons to enhance those investments.

On a personal note, I corresponded with Ambassador Beazley prior to coming to Australia. He offered to have his staff find a place where my technical background could be put to good use. I must write him again and tell him how it's going. Which is to say, fantastically.