On 19 November 2024, the UNSW Law & Justice’s China International Business and Economic Law (CIBEL) Centre and the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations (NFACR) jointly hosted a closed-door roundtable on Digital Trade and Competition. Held at the UNSW Law and Justice Building, this exclusive half-day event brought together distinguished speakers from academic institutions, companies, and government bodies across Australia, China, and the APAC region to foster in-depth discussions on the intersection of digital trade and competition issues.
The roundtable kicked off with a session on digital platform regulation, chaired by CIBEL Co-Director Associate Professor Weihuan Zhou. This session explored the contrasting approaches to digital platform regulation between China and other regions. China has opted not to introduce ex ante regulations, and the session delved into the reasons behind this decision, as well as the implications of the Digital Markets Act introduced in the EU. In contrast, Australia is implementing mandatory codes of conduct. The speakers, including Professor Guobin Cui (Tsinghua University), Professor Deborah Healey (UNSW), Dr Rob Nicholls (University of Technology Sydney), and Associate Professor Kelvin Kwok (University of Hong Kong), provided a comprehensive overview of the regulatory landscapes in their respective regions, highlighting both the challenges and opportunities presented by these differing approaches.
Following a morning tea break, the second session, chaired by Professor Deborah Healey, focused on the regulatory landscape of digital trade. This session examined China's advanced implementation of digital payments and its move towards a cashless society. The discussion also covered the recent announcement by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) that it is unlikely to develop a retail Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) for Australia, and the implications of this decision. The speakers, including Professor Wei Shen (Shanghai Jiao Tong University), Scientia Professor Ross Buckley ( UNSW), and Dr Anton Didenko (UNSW), shared their expertise on the pros and cons of digital payment systems, drawing comparisons between the experiences of China and Australia.
The roundtable successfully facilitated a rich exchange of ideas and perspectives on digital trade and competition, underscoring the importance of continued collaboration and dialogue between Australia and China in navigating the complexities of the digital age.