According to The Wealth Report, the US has the highest number of residents who own property in Australia than any other country bar one.
Property pathway to residency
Permanent residents are free to purchase property. For Chinese investors seeking to relocate to Australia, property ownership can serve as a pathway to permanent residency.
Chinese buyers are once again snapping up property in Australia, further fuelling resurgent prices in everything from luxury homes to tiny student apartments.
Currently, 14.1 per cent of Australia's agricultural land is foreign owned, and China is the largest foreign owner (2.3 per cent). China is also the third-largest stakeholder of Australian water behind Canada and the US, owning 604 gigalitres or 1.5 per cent of the total Australian water entitlement.
The FIRB approval threshold for the USA, UK or most other countries that want to buy Australian farmland is $1.2 billion, 80 times that of China's. On paper, China is the second largest landowner in Australia, with 9.2 million hectares, just behind the UK with 10.2 million hectares.
There are now some 1.4 million people with Chinese ancestry living in Australia, comprising 5.5% of the population. 1 According to the 2021 census, of Australia's top five ancestries, the only group to have grown since the last census in 2016 was Australians with Chinese ancestry.
Australia has a GDP per capita of $48,700 as of 2020, while in China, the GDP per capita is $16,400 as of 2020.
According to a government report on foreign ownership of agricultural land, Chinese investors are in fact one of the largest foreign entities with an interest (leasehold and freehold) in Australian farmland.
Because China is a socialist country, all land is either subject to government ownership or collective ownership. In principle, municipal land is subject to government ownership and land outside cities is subject to collective ownership. However, one can obtain the right to use the land.
How long is the Australian Visitor Visa valid for Chinese citizens? It's a Multiple Entry visa, valid for 1 year after arrival. This means you can travel to Australia as often as you want during the validity period. It allows you to remain in Australia for 3, 6, or 12 months.
In play now in China, where around 70% of household wealth is in property, this phenomenon is weighing on the post-pandemic recovery of household consumption, which Chinese policymakers have vowed to make a more prominent driver of economic growth.
It's not news that wealthy Chinese people commonly invest in the UK property market. People from Hong Kong and mainland China often send their children to schools in the UK, buying second homes here for them with an eye on investment.
It is a common story across Australia's top-tier neighbourhoods. From Toorak and Canterbury in Melbourne to Darling Point and Point Piper in Sydney, wealthy Chinese rank among the country's most prolific buyers of high-end real estate.
Today, China is Australia's largest trading partner in terms of both imports and exports. Australia is China's sixth largest trading partner; it is China's fifth biggest supplier of imports and its tenth biggest customer for exports.
It was the increasing demand for cheap labour after convict transportation ceased in the 1840s that led to much larger numbers of Chinese men arriving as indentured labourers, to work as shepherds for private landowners and the Australian Agricultural Company.
China's Luye Medical bought hospital operator Healthe Care and now owns 34 hospitals across Australia, making it the third largest operator in the country.
China's biggest airline presently owns half of Merredin Aerodrome and may soon own the entire airport, despite recently shutting down its pilot training school because of safety concerns. Anyone wishing to land at this airport must obtain permission from China Southern.
Other noteworthy companies with a presence include Haval Australia, CITIC, Sinopec, Wugang Australia, Mengniu Dairy, CSCEC and By-Health.
On a mean wealth basis, Australia was the fourth-richest country in 2021 behind Switzerland, the US and Hong Kong. The average Australian adult was worth $US550,110 at the end of last year, after enjoying a $US66,350 annual increase in wealth.
Here are the 10 richest countries in Asia: China - $11.22 Tn. Japan - $4.94 Tn. India - $2.26 Tn.
The Richest Country in the World by GDP
According to a study by the IMF on the wealthiest countries, China's GDP for 2022 was $19.24 trillion.
The 2016 distribution by State and Territory showed New South Wales had the largest number with 234,508 followed by Victoria (160,652), Queensland (47,114) and Western Australia (27,081). The latest Census in 2016 recorded 509,555 China-born people in Australia, an increase of 59.8 per cent from the 2011 Census.
One of the more popular areas for China's new rich, in addition to the old money suburbs of Vaucluse, Bellevue Hill and Point Piper, is Hunters Hill.