Connecting Shanghai and Sydney: Mobility of People

Abstract

In this chapter, I address the book’s concern on China-Australia connectedness from an urban perspective, through unravelling the connections between Shanghai and Sydney, the gateway global cities of the two countries. I approach the Shanghai-Sydney connections in multiple economic and social dimensions. First, I trace the rise of the two cities in the global city system in the twenty-first century, reflecting not only the growing economic influences of the two cities but also the increasing economic interaction between their home countries. Second, I utilise air passenger data to reveal the people movement between the two cities, which interacts with and complements their economic connections. Third, I compare the global competitiveness of the two cities, comprehensively, to reveal how the two cities converge and diverge in terms of competitive strength and weakness. Fourth, I examine the recent Chinese and Shanghainese migrants to Sydney to further delve into the people connection between the two cities. These intercity connections, overall, have shown a trend of increasing volume and intensity. The broad contexts—an accelerated globalisation and an increasingly engaged China-Australia relationship—that have enabled this trend, however, are at a crossroads, posing uncertainty and challenge for the future, especially in a COVID-19 world of disconnections.