【10.01.02 澳大利亚人报】Beijing bulwark saves the world, but where's the thanks?

青蛙小王子

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/beijing-bulwark-saves-the-world-but-wheres-the-thanks/story-e6frg8zx-1225815369549

I AM writing from New York as snowflakes gently fall to the footpath outside my hotel window. It's perfect but it contrasts with the way we treat one of the key reasons we're not in another Great Depression -- China.
My view was formulated, in part, watching the way we in Australia treat our tourists, many of whom are Chinese, when they leave the country. More on that disgrace for the Australian Government, and why I was on a queue with Chinese tourists, later.
I'm no China apologist, but when the global economy is still vulnerable to an economic and perhaps stockmarket shock, it's not smart to mistreat this crucial component of normal global economic growth.
Sure, China is not famous for behaving brilliantly but which big economy is? Of course, the Stern Hu arrest in China appeared heavy-handed but it does not compare to many other international incidents. My point is China is important. Last year the doomsday merchants were telling us China would be lucky to grow by 6 per cent . They were all wrong -- the latest forecast is up from 9 per cent to 9.6 per cent and this year it will be the second-largest economy in the world, surpassing Japan.
When the world faced the financial abyss in October 2008, the Chinese were about the first to dash to capitalism's rescue, with its $US586 billion stimulus package. This helped local demand but raised it for iron ore and other commodities.
It was commodities that lead Wall Street and other stock markets back up in 2009. This buoyed business and consumer confidence, which along with other stimulus packages and rate cuts, explained why Christmas was merrier than most predicted this time last year.
Just as World War II helped shake off the Great Depression, the growth of China, India, Brazil and Russia will assist the global economy to recover over the next two years. I think it is premature to play hardball with our Chinese buddies.
This week, the Yanks slammed duties of 10-16 per cent on Chinese-made steel pipes and this followed 35 per cent import duties on Chinese tyres.
International economics and politics is always a gamble but we have to be careful about looking like ingrates. For our part, the way we treat Chinese tourists needs looking at.
Under a nice rule that applies to tourists as well as Aussies, if you buy something relatively expensive and you are leaving the country with it within a certain period, you can have your GST refunded.
The Sydney international airport queue to a small tax refund office with insufficient workers was as long as a Depression-era soup kitchen. Many valuable tourists and ultimate advocates for our tourism industry were told they had to leave the queue to catch their planes, after being there for over an hour. There was no refund and local officials were talking to them badly. I was embarrassed.
I was also worried for local small businesses struggling in our tourism sector with the dollar so strong.