Embassy of Australia in Beijing
The Australian embassy in Beijing is located at Chancery:No.21, Dong Zhi Men Wai Da Jie, San Li Tun, where it serves the purpose of representing the interests of Australia in China. The ambassador is responsible for representing the government of Australia in any discussions with the government of China. This used to be the primary role of the embassy however these days the job of the ambassador has become mainly ceremonial. Since the leaders of the two countries can talk to each other on the telephone very easily there is little need for the ambassador to actually perform any negotiations. The main job of the Embassy now is to look out for the interests of Australian citizens who are in China as well as to help Chinese citizens who want to visit Australia. They do this by providing information and by processing paperwork like visa applications. One of the more important jobs for the modern embassy is to promote Australia as a destination for tourists and as a potential business partner.
Australia is located on it's own continent in the south Pacific Ocean. It is the only country that takes up a whole continent and this has resulted in Australia developing differently than other countries. With no nearby neighbours Australians tend to be much more independent than citizens of similar sized countries. Australia has actually got quite a small population and is very sparsely populated however it has far more influence on the world stage than it's small population would suggest that it should have. Australia have been very active on the world stage and have by and large linked their fortunes to the United States.
The Australian economy is an odd mixture of farming, natural resources, manufacturing and the high tech sector. They have a remarkably diversified economy for a country with such a small population. This is primarily because for most of their history they had limited options for trading partners as they are by and large isolated, they had to be self sufficient. This is has put Australia in a very strong position and they are likely to be in very good shape in the future regardless of how the economy of the rest of the world performs.
Relations between China and Australia have improved dramatically in recent years. For the most part Australia has followed the lead of the United States when it came to it's international relationships and this occasionally
caused tension with China. However as China has become more and more of a global power Australia has begun to move closer to her, even having one of China's top CEO's marry at the Australian Skytower. Given that Australia is in a region of the world that will soon be dominated by China and the importance that trade with China will take in the future this is a wise move on the part of the Australians.