Report reveals steady China at heart of Australian economy( Xinhua) 11:05, February 17, 2014 SYDNEY, Feb. 17- Australia's major international bank, Westpac has reaffirmed theleading role China plays within the Australian resource-heavy economy, with the latestWestpac Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics (BREE) study released last week,showing a Chinese economy performing at cruise speed through a sea of ongoing globalanxieties.
According to Senior Westpac International Economist Huw McKay, the economy ofAustralia's most important trading partner grew at a rate close to its potential in Decemberand for 2013 overall.
McKay said Monday the "respectable performance" in the September quarter is nowlooking very much like the peak for growth momentum in the current cycle phase.
The WestpacBREE China Resources Quarterly is a core reference publication analyzing themacroeconomic situation with commodity specific insights so critical in the Australia-Chinaeconomic relationship.
McKay told Xinhua, this edition has been compiled against a backdrop of anxiety in theChina watching universe, with a mild slowdown in the real economy coupled to theperception of growing financial risks.
The findings will be watched closely in Australia's current reporting season for the globally-ranked miners such as Rio Tinto, reporting financial results due this week.
McKay told Xinhua, Australia continued to play an important role in meeting the growth inChina's consumption, with increased export volumes registered across most commodities.
"Australian commodity producers continued to play a key role in Chinese economicconsumption during the period, with record 2013 shipments of iron ore and thermal coal aspart of a strategy by local producers to boost volumes amid weaker prices."
Australia exported a record 442 Mt of iron ore and 42 Mt of thermal coal to China in 2013.
According to Westpac, imports are playing an even more important role in meeting China'soverall mineral and energy demands, and in many commodity markets, Australianproducers have increased their market share in volume terms. This factor has mitigatedthe impact of lower prices on overall export earnings.
China's resources and energy use -- so important to the heartbeat of Australia's two-speedeconomy -- maintained an upward trajectory in 2013.
（Editor：WangXin、Yan Meng） Related reading
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