Pearls and Irritations

As the curtain of the Paris Olympics fell, I was thinking of the first Olympics I had experienced and reported back in 2000 when I was a Chinese correspondent based in Canberra.

That experience and those of many other people after the Sydney Olympics showcase that two of the world’s major economies, despite their differences, could work together to address global challenges.

Two Olympics, one shared green vision

One month before the Sydney Olympics, during a reporting tour of the Olympic village in Sydney’s Newington, I received a T-shirt, on which “Newington, the Natural Heart of Sydney” was printed. A new landscape was on the horizon. Olympics, which advocate faster, higher, and stronger, could also be greener.

Two days after the end of the Games, I went to the Olympics Main Press Centre, only to find that workers were disassembling facilities and pavilions. While Sydneysiders seemed “falling out of love” as the Games excitement came to a sudden stop, it was sentimental to see everything was removed from the MPC.

But that was not the end of the story. The first ever Green Olympics initiatives inspired people and the legacy was passed on.

Eight years later, when Beijing hosted the Games, Green Olympics was one of its themes and reached new heights. Chinese and Australian experts worked together to showcase their vision of getting greener.

For example, the Water Cube, which hosted the aquatics competitions at the 2008 Games, was designed and built by a consortium made up of China State Construction Engineering Corporation, China Construction Design International and Australia’s PTW Architects and Arup international engineering group. It is the largest ETFE-clad structure in the world, allowing more light and heat penetration than traditional glass, resulting in a 30% decrease in energy costs. This choice was made in view of Green Olympics with zero net growth in total carbon emissions.

In 2004, at the Athens Games between Sydney and Beijing, I interviewed Kevan Gosper, who was then the chairman of the IOC Press Commission and deputy chairman of the IOC Coordination Commission for the Beijing 2008 Olympics. He said that with changing times, the Olympics would have new themes. The environmental challenges faced by mankind had become increasingly severe since the 1980s and the Sydney Olympics came up with the theme of “Green Olympics”. Due to the significant impact of the Olympics, such moves had played a very positive role in promoting environmental protection throughout the world.

Sydney and Beijing used to be rivals during the 2000 Olympics bid. But after that, they demonstrated a shared commitment to a greener future and cooperated productively, sharing one green vision.

Competitors can be transformed into good partners for common and greater good. That is one thing the Green Olympics taught us. And it has far-reaching significance.

Two partners, addressing one common challenge

It has been 24 years since the Sydney Games, during which period the world witnessed six Olympics, a couple of wars, one financial tsunami, and two milestone climate agreements, those of Bali and Paris.

Despite all these ups and downs, China and Australia, on different continents and with differences or even disagreements, have both demonstrated a commitment to green growth and international cooperation to address global challenges. As this cooperation extended beyond the Green Olympics, they became two leading players on environmental issues and sustainability.

China has invested heavily in renewable energy infrastructure, aiming to mitigate climate change. Australia, with its abundant sunshine and strong winds, has its eyes on becoming a renewable energy powerhouse.

Both countries possess vast and diverse ecosystems that are crucial for global ecological balance. While Australia implemented conservation programs to protect its species and habitats, China took steps to protect its natural heritage.

Under the China-Australia Memorandum of Understanding on Climate Change Cooperation signed in 2014, the two countries cooperate to deliver practical addressing climate change outcomes, including through energy efficiency, technology cooperation, and improved emissions data reporting.

Under the China-Australia Memorandum of Understanding on Climate Change Cooperation signed in 2024, the two countries emphasised they share a common desire to strengthen bilateral cooperation, both domestically and internationally, and in multilateral forums to combat climate change. They reaffirmed their commitment to work together cooperatively to promote multilateralism to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement.

“It is important that we work together, through dialogue and practical cooperation, to address the challenges of climate change and deliver real outcomes.” said Australia’s Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen at the 8th China-Australia Ministerial Dialogue on Climate Change in August this year.
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Having witnessed the hassling and days delay of the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali in 2007 as a journalist, I understand that it is not always easy for countries to be on the same page on climate change. It takes will and time.

And combatting climate change does not always imply spending money. “There’s a huge opportunity for Australia to capitalise on the global net zero transformation, creating jobs and industries for our workers and communities,” said Bowen.

In China, we believe that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets.

Two comparative advantages, one complementary way to a beautiful landscape

On 16 August, Australian mining giant Fortescue Metals Group started constructing its Green Metal Project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Fortescue executives said that they saw big opportunities in the green metal supply chain, with a particular focus on the China market.

Located at the Green Energy Hub at Christmas Creek, the US$50 million project is expected to produce more than 1,500 tonnes of green iron metal a year, with first production anticipated in 2025. The plant will use green hydrogen produced at Fortescue’s gaseous and liquid hydrogen facility, the largest of its kind in Australia, together with an electric smelting furnace to produce high purity green metal.

Fortescue executives said some Chinese steel enterprises which have long-term partnerships with it have already shown strong interest in their green products, indicating a large and fast-growing market.

Meanwhile, the world’s fourth-largest iron ore miner sees China as a vital supplier of equipment Australia’s mining industry needs, including solar photovoltaic panels, wind turbines and electrolysis units.

This is one of the latest examples that the two countries could deepen their cooperation on sustainability for a better future. Fortescue’s transformation into a green energy and resources company is highly compatible with China’s unwavering commitment to developing green industries. The two countries could jointly build competitive industrial and supply chains in the new energy sector.

In an article titled with Why Australia could benefit from engaging with China on clean energy on 8 May, the Australian Financial Review discussed a report by the Australian National University’s East Asia Bureau for Economic Research.

The ANU report, A Sustainable Economic Partnership for Australia and China, says, “there are many technologies necessary for the clean energy transition in which China’s research and development efforts are world leading and that failure to cooperate closely with China in these areas will see Australia fall away from the climate technology frontier and miss significant opportunities for economic prosperity in the clean energy industrial transformation.”

It is a win-win story. In it, the two partners believe in a place called green growth. And in it, with other international partners, they are endeavouring to make the place more colourful and beautiful.

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