Dancing with the Dragon: Australia’s Diplomatic Relations with China (1901-1941) TIGER ZHIFU LI (李直夫) A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (by Research) Department of History Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences The University of Sydney ©2018 1 DECLARATION I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by another person nor material which to a substantial extent has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma of the university or other institute of higher learning, except where due acknowledgment has been made in the text. LI ZHIFU (李直夫) 3rd May 2018 2 Thesis Abstract By using little known primary sources in Chinese and English, this thesis will discuss Australia’s diplomatic relations with China, between 1901 and 1941. In March 1909, Liang Lanxun, China’s first consul-general arrived in Melbourne, Australia. Liang’s mission was to promote trade between China and Australia and as well to study the racial relations between Chinese and Australians. In 1921, Edward Little was appointed as Australia’s first trade commissioner in Shanghai, China. In 1929, the Chinese consulate moved from Melbourne to Sydney, due to the fact that Sydney had become the centre of the Chinese communities in the Oceania. I suggest that the Great Depression and the Second World War forced Australian policy-makers to reconsider Australia’s geo-political position in the world. This is the first detailed research that treats Chinese diplomats in Australia and Australian diplomats in China between 1901 and 1941 as key historical subjects. In this thesis, I argue that Chinese diplomats used trade as a tool to fight against the White Australia policy between 1909 and 1941. I further argue Australia was more intertwined and connected with Asia, in this period than the existing literature suggested. 3 Acknowledgements I thank my research supervisor, Dr Sophie Loy-Wilson, for her patient, and thoughtful guidance. Her faith in my project from the beginning, her deep knowledge of the field, and her inspiring supervision have been crucial for the completion of my thesis. At least twice, I almost gave up my studies (writing academic history in my second language is very hard), but she was able to encourage me and help me to regain my confidence. She made my transition from New Zealand to Australia much easier. If Dr Loy-Wilson is the most supportive person of my project, then Professor James Curran is the most critical person. He was in charge of my studies when Dr Loy-Wilson was on her maternity leave. Attending Professor Curran’s undergraduate lectures was a very enjoyable experience. His deep knowledge of Australian foreign policies has shaped my thesis. I could not have completed my Masters study without the guidance and encouragement from these two scholars who I admire greatly. Further, Dr David Brophy and Dr Andres Rodriguez both have acted as my associate supervisors at various times. They have helped to deep my understandings of China, and have sharpened my arguments. Thanks to the University of Sydney, for being my intellectual home over the past two years. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the staff at the History Department throughout my Masters studies. I have benefitted greatly from postgraduate seminars. I would like to offer my gratitude to Professor Chris Hilliard, Associate Professor Julia Horne, Dr Jamie Martin, and Professor Kirsten McKenzie. The postgraduate coordinators, Dr Thomas Adams, Dr David Brophy, Dr Frances Clarke, and Professor Michael McDonnell have helped me to set milestones, so that I can complete my studies on time. Professor Glenda Sluga has helped me a lot, and she has been supportive since day one. Dr Bronwen Dyson’s course “Writing a thesis”, was very useful. I am surrounded by a wonderful group of fellow students, friends and colleagues. They are central to the completion of this thesis. Darren Mitchell, is always the first person to read my drafts, and I have learnt a great deal of Australian society and history from him. Nico Bell- Romero, Sarah Bendall, Richard Cardinale, Sarah Dunstan, Simon Graham, David Kearns, Emma Kluge, Greg Murrie, Rainald Roesch, Morgan Southwick, Gillian Turner, Marama Whyte, all richly contributed to my intellectual life. I have benefited greatly from our discussions and debates. Honae Cuffe, Alison French, Chamathka Kariyawasam, Emily Paget, Steve Rogers, and Shannon Vincent all have helped me to proofread parts of my drafts. Qingjun (William) Liu, Shensi (Ethan) Yi, have both commented on parts of my writings; Minerva Inwald gave me valuable feedback. I would also like to thank Kate Baker, Jess Stewart, Michael Schudan, Nick Trillo, and Jess Whittall. I was a tutor in Asian Studies at University of Sydney in 2016. Dr Sean Moores—the course coordinator, treats me like his colleague. He gave me great freedom to run the third-year undergraduate tutorials. Dr Bruce Isaacs trained me to become a much better teacher. I have learnt a lot from my undergraduate students as well. Professor Penny Russell and Professor Chris Hilliard both have supported my project. I am pleased to receive History Department Grants--in--Aid (GIA), Joan Allsop Scholarship and Australian Pioneers' Club (APC) Postgraduate Research Support as well as Travel Bursary Schemes. I have used the funding to conduct research in Melbourne and Canberra as well as attending conferences. I would like to thank Mr Tchen Tsebin for locating some of my 4 primary sources. With his help, I was fortunate enough to visit the former Chinese consulate on Little Bourke St in Melbourne. Their institutional collections have shaped my understandings of the topic. Moreover, I would like to express my gratitude to the staff at the State Library of New South Wales, the archivists at the National archives of Australia (Canberra), the staff at the National Library of Australia (Canberra) and the staff at State Archives and Records NSW (Western Sydney). The Fisher Library at University of Sydney is a wonderful place to study and write; its collections are magnificent. Rena McGrogan at Fisher Library was very helpful and tolerant of my requests. Anna Temby and Shaina Rother helped me to get access to some primary sources at University of Queensland. I have presented talks about my research at two Australian Historical Association conferences (in Ballarat and Newcastle), and I have received valuable and constructive feedback from the audiences. I have also given a number of talks at University of Sydney, including at postgraduate conferences in the History Department. Outside the University of Sydney, Associate Professor David Reeve and Professor James Cotton have also supported me during my studies. Reeve has commented on parts of my drafts, and I have received constructive feedback from him. Cotton gave me valuable suggestions. This thesis began when I was a research student at University of Auckland. I have learnt a lot from my teachers and mentors in Auckland, particularly, Professor Paul Clark, Dr Richard Phillips, and Mr Lin Haiqing. My mother, Lillian Meng, is the most important and supportive person in my life. She strongly believes in the importance of education. She sacrifices a lot so that I could have study opportunities in both Chinese and English speaking countries. I still carry some childhood memories from my hometown—Fushun, China. She tried to teach her seven year old son, how to spell English words like “apple” (one of the first English words I learnt), “agonised and cajoled” so that he might learn to write those ten-line essays beloved of Chinese primary school teachers, “little dreaming that one day he would write something a thousand times longer”.1 This thesis is dedicated to her—my mother. Its shortcomings are mine alone. 1 Richard T. Phillips, China since 1911, London: Macmillan Press Ltd, 1996, “Acknowledgments”, p.ix. 5 NOTES ON TRANSLATION AND TRANSLITERATION All the translations from Chinese to English in this thesis are the author’s unless otherwise stated. I use the Hanyu Pinyin system of transliteration for Chinese words, names and phrases, except in cases where a different conventional or preferred spelling or pronunciation exists, e.g. Hsu Mo. The ordering of Chinese names follows their conventional forms; that is, family names first, followed by given names. 6 Dancing with the Dragon: Australia’s Diplomatic Relations with China (1901-1941) Introduction Little has been said in this introductory chapter regarding Australia’s relations with China between 1894 and 1931, because there is little to say. Since the settlement of the immigration issue at the beginning of the century Australia has had few political contacts with China except as a participant in international conferences and agreements.2 Jack Shepherd, 1939 Shepherd suggests there was historically little political contacts between Australia and China.3 Shepherd’s view represented the majority of Australians. My thesis however, challenges this position, by offering a more complete and complicated picture of the Sino- Australian diplomatic relations, between 1901 and 1941. In this thesis, I argue that between 1909 and 1941 Chinese diplomats used trade as a tool to fight against the White Australia policy.4 I further argue the decade of 1930s was the first time that Australia has turned its attention to Asia (namely China and Japan), both politically and economically, at least at the official level.5 I suggest that the Great Depression and the Second World War (WWII) made Australian policy-makers reconsider Australia’s geo- political position in the world. The economic depression and the expansion of Japan in the Pacific forced some Australian politicians to realise Australia’s geographical closeness to Asia.