Australia vs. China
Government
| Australia | China | |
|---|---|---|
| Country name | conventional long form: Commonwealth of Australia conventional short form: Australia etymology: the name Australia derives from the Latin "australis" meaning "southern"; the Australian landmass was long referred to as "Terra Australis" or the Southern Land | conventional long form: People's Republic of China conventional short form: China local long form: Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo local short form: Zhongguo abbreviation: PRC etymology: English name derives from the Qin (Chin) rulers of the 3rd century B.C., who comprised the first imperial dynasty of ancient China; the Chinese name Zhongguo translates as "Central Nation" or "Middle Kingdom" |
| Government type | federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm | communist party-led state |
| Capital | name: Canberra geographic coordinates: 35 16 S, 149 08 E time difference: UTC+10 (15 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins first Sunday in October; ends first Sunday in April note: Australia has four time zones, including Lord Howe Island (UTC+10:30) etymolgy: the name is claimed to derive from either Kambera or Camberry, which are names corrupted from the original native designation for the area "Nganbra" or "Nganbira" | name: Beijing geographic coordinates: 39 55 N, 116 23 E time difference: UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) note: China is the largest country (in terms of area) with just one time zone; before 1949 it was divided into five etymology: the Chinese meaning is "Northern Capital" |
| Administrative divisions | 6 states and 2 territories*; Australian Capital Territory*, New South Wales, Northern Territory*, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia | 23 provinces (sheng, singular and plural), 5 autonomous regions (zizhiqu, singular and plural), and 4 municipalities (shi, singular and plural) provinces: Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang; (see note on Taiwan) autonomous regions: Guangxi, Nei Mongol (Inner Mongolia), Ningxia, Xinjiang Uyghur, Xizang (Tibet) municipalities: Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, Tianjin note: China considers Taiwan its 23rd province; see separate entries for the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau |
| Independence | 1 January 1901 (from the federation of UK colonies) | 1 October 1949 (People's Republic of China established); notable earlier dates: 221 B.C. (unification under the Qin Dynasty); 1 January 1912 (Qing Dynasty replaced by the Republic of China) |
| National holiday | Australia Day (commemorates the arrival of the First Fleet of Australian settlers), 26 January (1788); ANZAC Day (commemorates the anniversary of the landing of troops of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during World War I at Gallipoli, Turkey), 25 April (1915) | National Day (anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China), 1 October (1949) |
| Constitution | history: approved in a series of referenda from 1898 through 1900 and became law 9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901 amendments: proposed by Parliament; passage requires approval of a referendum bill by absolute majority vote in both houses of Parliament, approval in a referendum by a majority of voters in at least four states and in the territories, and Royal Assent; proposals that would reduce a state's representation in either house or change a state's boundaries require that state's approval prior to Royal Assent; amended several times, last in 1977 | history: several previous; latest promulgated 4 December 1982 amendments: proposed by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress or supported by more than one fifth of the National People's Congress membership; passage requires more than two-thirds majority vote of the Congress membership; amended several times, last in 2018 |
| Legal system | common law system based on the English model | civil law influenced by Soviet and continental European civil law systems; legislature retains power to interpret statutes; note - on 28 May 2020, the National People's Congress adopted the PRC Civil Code, which codifies personal relations and property relations |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General David HURLEY (since 1 July 2019) head of government: Prime Minister Scott MORRISON (since 24 August 2018) cabinet: Cabinet nominated by the prime minister from among members of Parliament and sworn in by the governor general elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition is sworn in as prime minister by the governor general | chief of state: President XI Jinping (since 14 March 2013); Vice President WANG Qishan (since 17 March 2018) head of government: Premier LI Keqiang (since 16 March 2013); Executive Vice Premiers HAN Zheng (since 19 March 2018), SUN Chunlan (since 19 March 2018), LIU He (since 19 March 2018), HU Chunhua (since 19 March 2018) cabinet: State Council appointed by National People's Congress elections/appointments: president and vice president indirectly elected by National People's Congress for a 5-year term (no term limits); election last held on 17 March 2018 (next to be held in March 2023); premier nominated by president, confirmed by National People's Congress election results: XI Jinping reelected president; National People's Congress vote - 2,970 (unanimously); WANG Qishan elected vice president with 2,969 votes |
| Legislative branch | description: bicameral Federal Parliament consists of: Senate (76 seats; 12 members from each of the 6 states and 2 each from the 2 mainland territories; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 6-year terms with one-half of state membership renewed every 3 years and territory membership renewed every 3 years) House of Representatives (151 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by majority preferential vote; members serve terms of up to 3 years) elections: Senate - last held on 18 May 2019 (next to be held in 2022) House of Representatives - last held on 18 May 2019 (next to be held in 2022) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - Liberal/National coalition 37.99%, ALP 28.79%, The Greens 10.19%, One Nation 5.4%, Centre Alliance .19%, Lambie Network .21%, other 17.23%; seats by party - Liberal/National coalition 35, ALP 26, The Greens 9, One Nation 2, Centre Alliance 2, Lambie Network 1, independents 1 House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - Liberal/National coalition 41.4%, ALP 33.3%, The Greens 10.4%, Katter's Australian Party .49%, Centre Alliance .33%, independents 3.37%, other 10.63%; seats by party - Liberal/National Coalition 77, ALP 68, The Greens 1, Katter's Australian Party 1, Centre Alliance 1, independent 3 | description: unicameral National People's Congress or Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui (maximum of 3,000 seats; members indirectly elected by municipal, regional, and provincial people's congresses, and the People's Liberation Army; members serve 5-year terms); note - in practice, only members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), its 8 allied independent parties, and CCP-approved independent candidates are elected elections: last held in December 2017-February 2018 (next to be held in late 2022 to early 2023) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats by party - NA; composition - men 2,238, women 742, percent of women 24.9% |
| Judicial branch | highest courts: High Court of Australia (consists of 7 justices, including the chief justice); note - each of the 6 states, 2 territories, and Norfolk Island has a Supreme Court; the High Court is the final appellate court beyond the state and territory supreme courts judge selection and term of office: justices appointed by the governor-general in council for life with mandatory retirement at age 70 subordinate courts: at the federal level: Federal Court; Federal Magistrates' Courts of Australia; Family Court; at the state and territory level: Local Court - New South Wales; Magistrates' Courts - Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, Northern Territory, Australian Capital Territory; District Courts - New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia; County Court - Victoria; Family Court - Western Australia; Court of Petty Sessions - Norfolk Island | highest courts: Supreme People's Court (consists of over 340 judges, including the chief justice and 13 grand justices organized into a civil committee and tribunals for civil, economic, administrative, complaint and appeal, and communication and transportation cases) judge selection and term of office: chief justice appointed by the People's National Congress (NPC); limited to 2 consecutive 5-year-terms; other justices and judges nominated by the chief justice and appointed by the Standing Committee of the NPC; term of other justices and judges determined by the NPC subordinate courts: Higher People's Courts; Intermediate People's Courts; District and County People's Courts; Autonomous Region People's Courts; International Commercial Courts; Special People's Courts for military, maritime, transportation, and forestry issues note: in late 2014, China unveiled a multi-year judicial reform program; progress continued in 2018 |
| Political parties and leaders | Australian Greens Party [Adam BANDT] Australian Labor Party or ALP [Anthony ALBANESE] Country Liberal Party or CLP [Gary HIGGINS] Liberal National Party of Queensland or LNP [Deborah FRECKLINGTON] Liberal Party of Australia [Scott MORRISON] The Nationals [Michael MCCORMACK] Centre Alliance [Nick XENOPHON] Pauline Hanson's One Nation [Pauline HANSON] | Chinese Communist Party or CCP [XI Jinping] note: China has 8 nominally independent small parties controlled by the CCP |
| International organization participation | ADB, ANZUS, APEC, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CD, CP, EAS, EBRD, EITI (implementing country), FAO, FATF, G-20, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NEA, NSG, OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club, PCA, PIF, SAARC (observer), SICA (observer), Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNMISS, UNMIT, UNRWA, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC | ADB, AfDB (nonregional member), APEC, Arctic Council (observer), ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, BRICS, CDB, CICA, EAS, FAO, FATF, G-20, G-24 (observer), G-5, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSMA, MONUSCO, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, Pacific Alliance (observer), PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC (observer), SCO, SICA (observer), UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UN Security Council (permanent), UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Arthur SINODINOS (since 6 February 2020) chancery: 1601 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 797-3000 FAX: [1] (202) 797-3168 email address and website: https://usa.embassy.gov.au/ consulate(s) general: Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco | chief of mission: Ambassador QIN Gangas (since 29 July 2021) chancery: 3505 International Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 495-2266 FAX: [1] (202) 495-2138 email address and website: chinaemppress_us@mfa.gov.cn http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/ consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco; note - the US ordered closure of the Houston consulate in late July 2020 |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Michael GOLDMAN (since 19 January 2021) embassy: Moonah Place, Yarralumla, Australian Capital Territory 2600 mailing address: 7800 Canberra Place, Washington DC 20512-7800 telephone: [61] (02) 6214-5600 FAX: [61] (02) 9373-9184 email address and website: AskEmbassyCanberra@state.gov https://au.usembassy.gov/ consulate(s) general: Melbourne, Perth, Sydney | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d'Affaires David MEALE (since July 2021) embassy: 55 An Jia Lou Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100600 mailing address: 7300 Beijing Place, Washington DC 20521-7300 telephone: [86] (10) 8531-3000 FAX: [86] (10) 8531-4200 email address and website: BeijingACS@state.gov https://china.usembassy-china.org.cn/ consulate(s) general: Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenyang, Wuhan; note - the Chinese Government ordered closure of the US consulate in Chengdu in late July 2020 |
| Flag description | blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and a large seven-pointed star in the lower hoist-side quadrant known as the Commonwealth or Federation Star, representing the federation of the colonies of Australia in 1901; the star depicts one point for each of the six original states and one representing all of Australia's internal and external territories; on the fly half is a representation of the Southern Cross constellation in white with one small, five-pointed star and four larger, seven-pointed stars | red with a large yellow five-pointed star and four smaller yellow five-pointed stars (arranged in a vertical arc toward the middle of the flag) in the upper hoist-side corner; the color red represents revolution, while the stars symbolize the four social classes - the working class, the peasantry, the urban petty bourgeoisie, and the national bourgeoisie (capitalists) - united under the Communist Party of China |
| National anthem | name: Advance Australia Fair lyrics/music: Peter Dodds McCORMICK note: adopted 1984; although originally written in the late 19th century, the anthem was not used for all official occasions until 1984; as a Commonwealth country, in addition to the national anthem, "God Save the Queen" serves as the royal anthem (see United Kingdom) | name: "Yiyongjun Jinxingqu" (The March of the Volunteers) lyrics/music: TIAN Han/NIE Er note: adopted 1949; the anthem, though banned during the Cultural Revolution, is more commonly known as "Zhongguo Guoge" (Chinese National Song); it was originally the theme song to the 1935 Chinese movie, "Sons and Daughters in a Time of Storm" |
| International law organization participation | accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction | has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt |
| National symbol(s) | Commonwealth Star (seven-pointed Star of Federation), golden wattle tree (Acacia pycnantha Benth), kangaroo, emu; national colors: green, gold | dragon, giant panda; national colors: red, yellow |
| Citizenship | citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen or permanent resident of Australia dual citizenship recognized: yes residency requirement for naturalization: 4 years | citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: least one parent must be a citizen of China dual citizenship recognized: no residency requirement for naturalization: while naturalization is theoretically possible, in practical terms it is extremely difficult; residency is required but not specified |
Source: CIA Factbook
