Chinese Migrant Entrepreneurship in Australia from the 1990s: Case Studies of Success in Sino-Australian Relations

For more than two decades Australia has not only prospered without a recession but has achieved a higher growth rate than any Western country. This achievement has been credited to Australia’s historic shift to Asia; the transformation of the relationship between these two countries is one of the most important changes in the Asia-Pacific region. However, the role of new Chinese migrants in transforming Sino-Australian relations through their entrepreneurial activities has not been deeply explored. Chinese Migrant Entrepreneurship in Australia from the 1990s adds new theoretical considerations and empirical evidence to a growing interest in entrepreneurship, and presents an account of a group of new Chinese migrant entrepreneurs who have succeeded in their business ventures significantly contributing to both Australia and China. The first chapter introduces the history between Australia and China, followed by chapters focusing on post-migration realities, economic opportunities, Chinese outbound tourism and the use of community media. The final chapter concludes with a summary.

Focuses on the people whose entrepreneurial activities have spread across industries and facilitated trade and cultural contactsAnalyses the experiences of the new migrants from China Offers evidence that challenges outdated but still widely held assumptions about ethnic Chinese entrepreneursPresents longitudinal research on the new Chinese migrant community in Australia since the late 1980’sDemonstrates a dynamic process that challenges the overemphasis on the impact of globalisation on Chinese entrepreneurs

Chapter One Introduction

1.1 A brief history of the Chinese in Australia 1.2 The Chinese student issue in Australia in 1989 1.3 Theoretical perspectives on overseas Chinese entrepreneurship 1.4 Organisation of the book

Chapter Two Settling down in the New Gold Mountain

2.1 The new Chinese community and post-migration realities 2.2 The New Gold Mountain Chinese School 2.3 Completing in the education market 2.4 A game changer for new migrant families

Chapter Three Riding on the sheep's back

3.1 The restructuring of Australia's economy and new opportunities 3.2 Spending buckets of gold on filthy sheepskin 3.3 Making Yellow Earth sheepskin products a fashion in China

Chapter Four Internationalising the Chinese white goods

4.1 A novel idea from a novelist 4.2 The first container of Konka TVs to Australia 4.3 Striving for a share in the Australian market

Chapter Five Opening up two tightly closed doors to Chinese

5.1 Chinese outbound tourism and Sinophobic Australia 5.2 The early operations of Chinese study-tour in Australia 5.3 Chinese roles in Australia's inbound tourism and education industries

Chapter Six Going beyond the small Chinese community

6.1 The Suzhi of the new Chinese migrants and their settlement 6.2 Breaking new ground in the community media market 6.3 Radio-activated business and power 6.4 Act as an experiment in China's soft power

Chapter Seven Towards an updated understanding of entrepreneurship

7.1 Summary of findings 7.2 The Chinese in post-mining boom Australia