Rhys Palmer
Rhys Palmer is Director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Newcastle providing entrepreneurial leadership in the development of exchanges, collaborations, consultancies and partnerships within and between academic, community, business and govemment partners in Australia and China. Prior to his appointment at the Confucius Institute, Rhys was the Associate Director of Marketing and Public Relations at the University of Newcastle. With over 15 years in the higher education sector Rhys has extensive experience in brand management, marketing communications, and business development. He is an Executive Member of the NSW Australian China Business Council.

CONFUCIUS SAID ... AT 40 THERE ARE NO DOUBTS
"The 40th anniversary of our diplomatic ties presents a wonderful opportunity to broaden and deepen our bilateralrelationship" - Julia GillardThis year, 2012, the Year of the Dragon, marks the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Australia and China. During this time we have witnessed China's extraordinary economic growth. China has become Australia's biggest trading partner in the past 40 years with two-way trade between the countries now exceeding $100 billion.
It is well documented that Australia's prosperity is economically linked to China. The resources boom protected usagainst the worst of the global financial crisis. But while there are no doubts that the Australia-China relationship is booming economically, can we claim the same achievement of our cultural maturity towards China?
Until the ascendency of China, Australia's major economic and strategic partners had, for the most part, been from similar cultural backgrounds. Unlike today, culture was rarely a factor in our considerations. China's rise as a world power brings with it considerations of history and culture - considerations that Australia has never before had to confront.
The yin-yang of China's unprecedented economic growth is both its 'going out' culturally and the enduring nature of culture, based on the cardinal virtues of classical Confucianism, which underpins and permeates all aspects of modern Chinese life. Chinese culture is not, and has never been, marginal decoration as some might think.
So this 40th anniversary gives us the opportunity to reflect on our shared history, and also to look forward to the future. The Australian Govemment's Australia in the Asian Century white paper, which aspires to secure Australia's position in Asia, asserts: 'Australia will only succeed in the Asian century by engaging the whole community.'
However creating an Australia that is more mature and knowledgeable in its collective understanding of Chinese culture will not be easy - we have a long way to go this important work and are achieving great results.deal from Chinese culture in the 21st century.
Ofthis ... at 40, there are no doubts.


瑞斯·帕尔默
瑞斯‘帕尔默是澳大利亚纽卡斯尔大学孔子学院院长，在中国与澳大利亚的学术界、社区、商业和政府合作伙伴的交流、合作、咨询和合伙开发方面提供创业型领导。在任职孔子学院之前，瑞斯先生是纽卡斯尔大学营销和公关系副主任。里斯先生在高等教育领域已工作了15年以上，在品牌管理、营销传播和商业开发方面有广泛的经验。他还是新南威尔士州澳大利亚中国商会执行委员。

孔子曰：“四十而不惑”
“中澳建交40周年为扩大和加深两国的双边关系提供了一个很好的机遇。”一一茱莉亚，吉拉德
今年（2012年）是龙年，是澳大利亚与中国建交40周年。在这期间，我们见证了中国不同寻常的经济增长。过去40年来，中国已成为澳大利亚最大的贸易伙伴，双边贸易额现在已超过一千亿美元。
有充分证据显示，澳大利亚的繁荣在经济上与中国联系在一起。资源热潮保护我们免受最严重的全球金融危机的打击。然而，虽然澳大利亚与中国在经济上无疑是快速发展的，但我们能声称在与中国文化交流方面也取得同样的成果吗？
直到中国崛起之前，澳大利亚的主要经济和战略合作伙伴大多数是来自熟悉的文化背景。与中国不同的是，文化在以前是我们很少考虑的一个因素。中国崛起成为世界强国使人们考虑到中国的历史和文化——澳大利亚以前从来没有面对这种考虑。
中国史无前例的经济增长的“阴阳”，既是文化的“走出去”，也是基于经典儒家的基本道德观在文化上的容忍性，这种道德观支撑并渗透到现代华人生活的各个方面。中华文化现在不是、过去也不是如某些人所想的那样仅仅作为边缘的装饰品。
因此，40周年给我们一个机会来反映我们共同的历史，以及展望未来。澳大利亚政府发布的《澳大利亚在亚洲世纪》白皮书渴望确保澳大利亚在亚洲的地位，并断言：“澳大利亚只有与整个地区发展关系才能在亚洲世纪取得成功。”
然而，要创建一个在集体了解中华文化方面更成熟的和更有知识的澳大利亚并不容易——我们有很长的路要走。一些个人和机构热情地从事这项重要工作并取得了很大成果。驱动他们的是如下的认识：我们所有人都能从21世纪中华文化中学到很多东西。
其中一种知识是：四十而不惑。