APEC cards are back – but now they are virtual. On 1 March 2021, Australia transitioned to the Virtual APEC Business Traveller Card (ABTC), a digital version of the card accessible through a cardholder’s smart device. Physical cards will no longer be issued to Australian applicants and cardholders. Rules around the APEC Business Travel Card which many businesspeople found very helpful – especially in travelling to China have been relaxed. Holders of the card do not have to apply for a visa which is time consuming and requires copious documentation each time you want to go.

China joined the APEC card scheme in 2001 and  the card was readily available to people travelling periodically to APEC economies, including China and not a lot of evidence was required; the scheme was then tightened and at one stage you required certification by an approved body (like Australian Industry Group) of your China activities. As translators, we were called upon to provide evidence of China engagement from time to time.

Good news for China Travellers

The Chinese Government has announced that it will accept the virtual APEC Business Traveller Card (ABTC) from 1 May 2023. The Chinese Government has also announced that as an interim arrangement, Chinese embassies and consulates will provide visas free of charge to those virtual ABTC holders who:

• have received pre-clearance from China and
• do not have a physical ABTC

China continues to accept physical ABTCs from all participating APEC economies.

Virtual ABTC holders need to provide proof pre-clearance has been granted by China. If no such proof is available, the application will be verified by China. Applicants may contact relevant Chinese embassies and consulates for details, noting the specific requirements and procedures may vary at different diplomatic services.

To be eligible, you need to be engaged in trade or investment, of senior status and provide a range of evidence digitally to the Immigration Department.

For more information: https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/entering-and-leaving-australia/business-travel-card/australian-citizens

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A smiling, waving Trade Minister met with his Chinese counterpart for the first time in over 3 years on 6 February.

Reflecting the warm meetings that had paved the way between Prime Minister Albanese and President Xi and between Foreign Minister Penny Wong and her Chinese counterpart, this was another positive step towards a restoration of this all-important relationship.

A well briefed Minister Farrell started the virtual meeting with Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao with the media in the room.

An also well-prepared Mandarin Interpreter was by his side with note book, vocab lists and pens ready to take down shorthand and accurately reflect Minister Farrell’s remarks. 

In recent times interpreters at these meetings have been hidden from sight – either behind their ministers or removed in a soundproof booth delivering Simultaneous Interpreting.  At yesterday’s meeting we could see the interpreter with pen poised to get started, where he was also welcomed by the Minister, and this meeting was run with Consecutive Interpreting.

So what is the difference between Consecutive Interpreting and Simultaneous Interpreting and what are the skills required?

We asked Chin’s MD Charles Qin who works in both of these interpreting ‘modes’.

Charles told us that the Chinese side has been running meetings in Simultaneous mode (when physical meetings are held). This means interpreters are seated in soundproof booths (either in a corner of the room or an adjacent room) connected with headphones to hear the dialogue, and, in real time – live, they are rendering those words back into the other language.  In the interpreter’s booth, they are listening to their minister or prime minister speak and at the same time converting that to Mandarin.  Yes, very difficult!

Consecutive Interpreting is one we are more familiar with – minister speaks and interpreter follows – back and forth. Interpreters must take appropriate notes and accurately render the words and the tone.

In both cases it is vital to reflect the tone, intent, meaning and to be precise in the choice of words.

Both modes require training, experience, lots of preparation and reading, familiarity with news, history and economy and, of course, first class language and interpreting skills. A calm, confident demeanour also gives the parties trust and means they can focus on the contents and relationship knowing that their words (and the relationship) are in safe hands.

Minister’s website and transcript of opening remarks: https://www.trademinister.gov.au/minister/don-farrell/transcript/meeting-chinas-minister-commerce-wang-wentao

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This week, Australia had its first ministerial visit to China in more than three years – when Foreign Minister Penny Wong met her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi on Wednesday 21 December. This meeting also fell on the 50^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Australia and China, attributing even greater significance to this long overdue visit.

The inception of Chinese-Australian diplomatic relations can be traced back to 1971, when Gough Whitlam, then still the Leader of the Opposition, embarked on a historic trip to China. One of the earliest high-level political contacts between China and the West in the late 20^th century, Whitlam’s trip predated Henry Kissinger’s visit on behalf of the United States, and illuminated Whitlam’s determination to reimagine Australian foreign policy. This was achieved in the following year, when Whitlam was elected Prime Minister of Australia and the relationship between China and Australia was formalised.

Yet, under the sensitive international politics context of the time, Whitlam’s venture into China was deemed politically risky. It came about at a time when distrust, anxiety and paranoia was the order of the day when it came to international relations – a result of the Cold War (indeed, the Cold War is frequently referred to as the ‘War of Perceptions and Paradox’). It had distorted the West’s view of the East, and vice versa. Back then, the world looked to the US as a forerunner on diplomatic relations, but it would take another seven years for the US to form its own diplomatic relations with China. As such, the Whitlam Government’s recognition of the People’s Republic of China was received as a bold, and debatably radical, political venture. But opposing voices soon ceased as Australia witnessed the trajectory of China’s importance to the nation steadily climb decade after decade, and by 2007 China overtook Japan as Australia’s largest trading partner, and in 2009 China became Australia’s largest export market.

Despite sharing decades of respectful friendship, communication between the countries came to a halt in recent years, with Marise Payne’s visit in 2018 marking the last trip taken by an Australian Foreign Minister to China. This was exacerbated under the Morrison Government and against the backdrop of the COVID-19 Pandemic, and diplomatic dialogue between the two nations was officially suspended by China in May 2021.  

Fortunately, with the newly instated Albanese Government, Australia has witnessed a gradual comeback in friendly diplomatic relations with China. In 2022 alone, Chinese and Australian leaders have met on four separate occasions including the UN’s National Assembly in New York,  the G20 foreign ministers and the G20 summit in Bali, and, most recently Penny Wong’s visit to Beijing, ending the year on a high with optimism for 2023.

An aspect often overlooked between the meetings of global leaders is the interpreters hard at work behind the scenes. As the intention of these meetings is often to build trust and goodwill, effective communication is key, and this cannot be achieved without the help of good interpreters. Yet, diplomatic interpreters face some of the toughest challenges in the industry, as the dialogues they are interpreting often have the nation’s cultural, social, economic, defence and national interests at stake, and there is absolutely no room for error. As such, diplomatic interpreters often work under high-pressure conditions.

Assignments are under a veil of confidentiality as to the nature of the work and everything discussed. Diplomatic interpreters, therefore, need to do a great deal of preparing and reading. They also need to be well across the news, current affairs, world affairs, people and hot topics, across multiple industries and have an understanding of the many interest groups. Further, the protocol at this level is that the interpreters always interpret for their country – so in Australia’s case, interpreting from English into Mandarin. As such, much more than any other kind of interpreting, high-level proficiency in both languages, and the ability to deliver speech in a high-pressure context, is an absolute requirement for diplomatic interpreting.

When it comes to diplomatic meetings, in recent years in the interest of time, simultaneous interpreting is preferred over consecutive interpreting. With simultaneous interpreting, the speaker does not pause between utterances to allow time for the interpreter to translate (as is the case in consecutive interpreting), but rather, the interpreting is done in real-time and the interpreter translates while the speaker is talking. Simultaneous interpreters usually work in soundproof booths, and they receive and deliver utterances through a headset. As simultaneous interpreting requires the interpreter to digest the sentences, translate them, and concurrently listen to the following utterance, it requires utmost concentration. Conversely, in consecutive interpreting, the interpreter often sits next to or behind the speakers, and relies on note taking to ensure all crucial messages are captured in between pauses.

As helpful as interpreters are in bridging language barriers, there are some challenges that are inherent in interpreting. For example, jokes and puns are some of the most difficult to translate, yet they are ever-present in our dialogues – even in top-level political meetings. The G20 summit saw one such instance when Albanese’s playful joke about Australia’s changing of prime ministers took a few minutes to register in translation with the Chinese delegation who, thankfully, then laughed! Another example is when a pun was made to an electricity minister from China, “You must be a powerful person”. When dealing with these arguably untranslatable concepts, the interpreter’s comprehension and understanding of each country’s cultural nuances is put to the test – something that not every interpreter can do.

In summary, as we celebrate the 50^th anniversary of Australian-Chinese diplomatic relations, a toast should be raised to our diplomatic interpreters. Thanks to their professionalism and dedication, the special relationship between China and Australia can continue to flourish and grow.

The post Celebrating 50 years of Australia-China diplomatic relations the importance and challenges of diplomatic interpreting appeared first on Chin Communications.

It has been described by commentators as ‘monumental’ and even more significant than Gough Whitlam’s historic visit to China in 1972! I don’t think there has been so much attention expended on a leaders’ meeting since President Nixon set foot in China in 1972. 

The first meeting in six years has propelled weeks of coverage of the talks between Australian Prime Minister Albanese and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The mood at the G20, business confidence back in Australia, reading between the Chinese lines, and media hype all point to a turnaround in fortunes for this most important relationship.

A lot was riding on the success of the meeting – pressure on participants, including the interpreters: President Xi had three and our PM had me!

In fact, what has been overlooked in all the coverage is virtually any mention of translators and interpreters – after all, we are mostly hidden behind the scenes. 

But interpreters play a vital role – whether in meetings like this, or in day-to-day work like we’ve all been doing helping keep multicultural communities safe from Covid

There has been blow by blow and word by word analysis of this meeting and snippets seen on TV; even an account in The Age from Peter Hartcher of a joke between the leaders, the short delay for “translation”, and then laughs all round.  Yes, a sigh of relief from yours truly that they got the joke! 

And to help flesh out the picture of the room: two tables with each side’s senior people lined up, national flags, swarming media (until they were banished), and 20 metres away in the corner – two soundproof booths – one for me and one for my Chinese colleagues. At these meetings, we deliver the interpreting “live” in simultaneous mode, so there is virtually no delay; otherwise a 32 minute talk would need to double in time (or cover half as much) if interpreters were speaking after their leader (what we call consecutive interpreting).

So next time you are meeting your Chinese partners in the flesh or on zoom, think about how much better and more respectful and efficiently it will run with professional Chinese interpreting. It doesn’t have to be grand with flags, flowers and soundproof booths; one interpreter, a meeting room or a zoom session – you’ll be amazed at the difference. Call us on 1300 792 446 for help.

Chinese Translators and Interpreters – a Prominent Role in the Australia-China Relationship
It is great to see Chinese interpreters featured in a new publication to celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations. Australia China Stories presents 50 vignettes from individuals who have formed part of the rich fabric of the Australia-China relationship since the establishment of official ties between Australia and the People’s Republic of China.

Check out here for more details about the stories. I’m on page 80-81: https://lnkd.in/g9BkMAuB

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President Trump has declared that he will ban WeChat (and TikTok) and the rest of the world is looking on in alarm (or, perhaps, delight). Certainly Chinese everywhere are aghast at the possibility of not being able to keep in touch with family and friends. It makes the Great Firewall a reality where western apps are banned in China and the main channel of communication – WeChat – is banned in America.  As we speak, tech experts will be poring over alternatives to keep WeChat alive.

WeChat could be part of the election battle over the next 3 months. Many Chinese voters in the States will shift from Trump to Biden – that is how strongly Chinese feel about this order. Will Biden overturn the order if he wins and bring WeChat back?

Alan Kohler, Eureka Report expressed what many of us know to be true: “a ban on WeChat in Australia would be much more painful, and potentially disastrous …  it would probably mean a collapse in the numbers of Chinese tourists or students, possibly an end to them entirely. There aren’t many tourists and foreign students now, of course, but they won’t return if they can’t use WeChat here.”

WeChat is an entire ecosystem to the Chinese – they spend around 4 hours a day on it and there are over a billion active users worldwide.  You can do everything you need to do in WeChat, from booking taxis, to ordering anything (and paying), booking appointments – yourself or your pet, reading news, tracking COVID, doing business deals, investing, sending messages and making calls, transferring documents, keeping up with social media and breaking news, even interpreting for meetings or legal cases have been done via WeChat. Many Chinese in America have said that they will give up their iPhone if WeChat is not able to be used on it; others indicate that they will not travel or go to study in America if WeChat is not available – that could be a boon to other countries targeting them (i.e. everywhere else), especially Australia.

WeChat is a powerful communication tool and while it is used by businesses to market and sell to Chinese, it is also used to channel information. For example, Chin Communications set up its own WeChat media platform, ChinSight, to disseminate important information to the Chinese community in Australia. We recognised a need and demand for correct and timely information during the bushfires and especially since COVID. There has been a lot in the news about a lack of translation or worse – poor translations – and ChinSight has breached this gap delivering official information in Chinese.  The Chinese community has been relatively free from COVID and getting timely information has been critical. We’ve also seen how politicians in Australia and around the world harnessed the power of WeChat during elections to win support. So WeChat is a valuable tool to many non-Chinese too.

In Australia there are over 3 million users of WeChat and that is significant in purchasing power and influence; from those 3 million accounts is the power to reach millions more across the Chinese diaspora and into China.  Many companies find it unequalled in the ability to reach buyers of their good and services, or to influence them here in Australia and in China.

This US ban only sets up the likelihood of a total firewall that China and the West cannot breach. Or other countries may be beneficiaries if they are sensible and don’t follow suit with a WeChat ban. A WeChat Covid-led recovery – now there is something to inspire!

The post Trump Versus WeChat – Could Australia be a Winner? appeared first on Chin Communications.

“It’s not a question of choosing China or choosing America. It’s a question of choosing a sense of independence which is important for the preservation of our own sovereignty and the importance of the preservation of basic Australian pride.”

It was the 40^th anniversary of Diplomatic Relations being established with China (July 2012) that I had a close encounter with former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser. And I had previously written about Gough Whitlam and one of his enduring legacies – the recognition of China and how huge that has been for all of us in our relationship with China today. Gough was the pioneer in forging what would become our most important relationship in 1972; Malcolm, particularly in his later years as a statesman, was our moral compass, the one who kept reminding us of the importance of the China relationship and the danger of putting all our eggs into the United States’ basket.

The US has always been reluctant to the China table, not establishing formal relations until 1979 and running what Fraser tagged a “two-track policy” – talking up the importance of understanding and exchange while increasing military forces in the western Pacific and drawing Australia into its web. It is fitting indeed that just before Malcolm Fraser’s passing, Australia finally heeded some of his wisdom, in principle agreeing to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, against the express wishes of America.  Australia had put its mouth where its money is.

Former PM Fraser was the keynote speaker at the Australia China Friendship Society’s celebration of the Australia-China 40^th milestone in July 2012. I was in the audience. Fraser reminded us that as Prime Minister, he acknowledged the relationship with China by visiting Beijing on his first overseas visit. Like Whitlam, he was prescient in seeing the positives in China and in his post-politics life always spoke up in support of the relationship and warned Australia against being a US puppet as it pursued its expansionist policy.

“We cannot expect our trade relationship to be unaffected if on every occasion we follow America in strategic matters.”

Fraser reminded us that China had come to the rescue of the region during the Asian meltdown in 1997 and been a significant factor in helping Australia to avoid the GFC: “China has been a force for good in our part of the world.”  He pointed out that the US indeed respects people with a point of view who argue their position well and if Australia stood up to them with an independence of mind better diplomacy and relationships would result and wars and arms races could be averted.

An independence of mind keeps us relevant and  Australia needs to be mindful of how other countries see us, Fraser, speaking at the Gough Whitlam Oration in 2012 said, “We need a better understanding that China’s policies will be formed, in part as a consequence of the attitudes and policies of the United States and of countries with which she deals … An understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of our own democracy would strengthen our own diplomacy throughout East and South-East Asia and make us a more effective partner.”

The final words belong to Malcolm Fraser: “We want consultation. We want mutual understanding. We want to resolve difficulties through diplomacy and dialogue. We want to understand each other better.”

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The Culmination of Australia’s own Long March, wrote Whitlam. There has been a plethora of reminiscing about Gough Whitlam and how he opened the door for us to China, in a sense giving Australia a premier position which we still get traction from today! As a school student during this time, I still recall our teacher, Mrs Ashton’s passion about China and the historic events taking place, perhaps it was here that my enduring interest in China was born.

Australia, in 2012, celebrated 40 years of diplomatic relations. Back in 1972, this marked a ‘profound shift’ in thinking that we can hardly believe was such a bold step forty years ago when today China is so inextricably linked to Australia’s fortunes and, indeed, we could not survive without her. Nevertheless there are things you will read written by Gough Whitlam and his advisors that still bear reflection, even today, for example the importance of empathising with China:

“One of the great troubles in relations between China and the West is that we expect China to believe the best about our statements of intention while we choose to believe the worst about hers. We expect understanding for our own fears, but we have never tried to understand hers. We have been obsessed by our own historical experience, but we scoff at China’s obsession with her own experience.”

The issue of establishing Diplomatic Relations with China was big news in Australia and bitter debates went on. In there is a lesson for us all about the misplaced loyalty to the US that we should heed today:

“Many arguments have been advanced by successive Ministers why in Australia we should not recognise China. They have always omitted the crucial point that we do not do it because America does not do it. Once America does it this Government will quickly follow. We take the attitude officially in Australia that opinion in America is monolithic.”

There is one more little tidbit, which says a lot about the respect of the Chinese for others. In 1973 Prime Minister Whitlam became the first Australian Prime Minister to visit China; loudspeakers played Click go the Shears and Waltzing Matilda; the Chinese, in order to make the couple feel welcome (Margaret accompanied Gough), had done a great deal of homework, they knew Margaret was very tall and that she liked swimming. They prepared a special swimming suit for her, just in case. There is a lesson for all of us here today about both thoughtfulness and doing your homework!

The “moment of opportunity” endures today. Whitlam’s experience and lessons also endure and much can be gained by reading the many accounts and following the principles for effective relationship building.

1.Graham Freudenberg

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