PUBLIC LECTURE: On China: The Ambassadors' Lectures: Looking Forward by Looking Back; reflections on China 1996 -2000

Abstract: Mr Smith was Australia's Ambassador to China from 1996 to 2000. This was a period which saw significant developments within China itself and in the Asian region more widely. It was also a period in which key decisions were made affecting the Australia-China bilateral relationship. Together, these events and decisions set the course for China and for the Australia-China relationship well into the future.

Mr Smith reviews those developments and reflects on their implications for China and the future management of the bilateral relationship. He describes the framework within which, as Ambassador, he sought to manage Australia's interests in China during this period.

Biographical note: Mr Richard Campbell Smith was born in Perth (1944), educated at the University of Western Australia, and taught in Western Australian High Schools before joining the then Department of External Affairs in 1969. He served as Second Secretary in the Australian High Commission, New Delhi (1970-1973), First Secretary at the Australian Embassy in Tel Aviv (1975-77) and Counsellor and Deputy Head of Mission at the Australian Embassy in Manila (1980-84). From 1985 to 1987, he was Assistant Secretary, Staffing and Organisation Branch in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and from 1987 to 1989 he was Consul-General in Honolulu, accredited at the same time to the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. From 1989 to 1992, Mr Smith was Head of the Pacific, Africa and Middle East Division of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. In 1992 he was appointed a Deputy Secretary. In this position, he had responsibility for Australia's relations with Asia, and in particular worked closely with ASEAN countries, participating in the ASEAN Post Ministerial Conference and contributing to the development of the ASEAN Regional Forum. He acted as Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for much of the period from December 1992 to May 1993.

From March 1994 to the end of 1995, Mr Smith served on secondment to the Department of Defence as Deputy Secretary Strategy and Intelligence.

Mr Smith took up duty as Australian Ambassador to the People's Republic of China in February 1996 and served in that position until February 2000. He was also accredited as non-resident Ambassador to Mongolia.

From March to December 2000, Mr Smith undertook two special projects by the Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, one to develop the Department's information technology strategy, the other a study of best practice among foreign and trade ministries. From January 2001 to 31 October 2002, Mr Smith served as Australian Ambassador to the Republic of Indonesia.

Mr Smith was named as an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the 1998 Australia Day Honours List, and was awarded the Public Service Medal on 17 October 2003.

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