Australia needs to rely on growing economies such as China to help shift economy: PM Turnbull

Australia needs to rely on growing economies such as China to help shift from a resources-dependent economy to an open market, modern one, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said Thursday.

Speaking at the Economic and Social Outlook Conference (ESOCON), Turnbull said the end of Australia's mining boom means Australia must look to other industries to maintain a strong, balanced economy.

He said the recent China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA), singed by the two nations in June and approved by the Opposition last month, will create jobs and opportunities for Australians to become a part of the rapidly-globalizing world economy.

"In the lifetime of everyone, China has gone from barely contributing to the world economy to becoming the single largest single economy."

"To his credit, Trade Minister Andrew Robb has opened up the doors to those (Chinese) markets through the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement."

He likened China's emerging economy to start-up companies such as Uber, Airbnb, and products such as the iPhone, which were still "young" and finding ways to reach more people.

"Most of the companies reinventing our world would still be at school if they were kids," Turnbull said.

"In the midst of all this change, political and economic opportunities for Australians have never been better."

The prime minister said the "open market" economy that Australia is forming, with recent FTAs signed with Japan, South Korea and now China paving the way, should not be seen as a "scare campaign" rather a change in political culture.

"Agility is key," Turnbull said. "Agility in today's world of volatility is absolutely key."

"We must be more productive, more innovative and more competitive. We must acquire the skills and a culture of agility that allows us to make volatility our friend."

He said the sudden end of Australia's mining boom, coupled with Australia signing landmark FTAs with emerging Asian nations, was a example of embracing the volatility and growing "global" economy.

"As we know, at the beginning of the last decade, the rapid industrialization of emerging economies, led by China, drove unprecedented demand for raw materials," he told ESOCON.

"Prices rose sharply and delivered a massive gain for Australian incomes created a boom. Mining grew from less than two percent GDP in the early 2000s to more than 7 in just over a decade."

"We can't rely on rapid growth of commodity prices to fuel future income growth, but there are many, enormous opportunities available to us."

Turnbull said Australian businesses and workers would benefit from the landmark China-Australia FTA, telling the conference that Australia's good relationship with China, and its close proximity, would give Australia the first crack at breaking into a number of rapidly-growing Chinese markets.

"Did you know that the Chinese online commerce market is already rivaling that of the US? The rapid growth of its economy, at the consumption level, is remarkable," Turnbull said.

"For the first time in 300 years, the number of Asian middle class consumers equals the number in Europe and North America combined."

Turnbull implored all Australians to be "brave enough and smart enough" to take the modern opportunities that presented themselves, telling the conference that it was important for Australia not to lag behind the rest of the world. Endit