Sydney (CNN) -- As Australia digests the government's recent call for deeper engagement with Asia -- and China in particular -- one Australian billionaire with interests in China has offered some advice. "Stop viewing China like it's the Cold War," James Packer, who owns multimillion dollar casino businesses in Australia and Macau, said at a recent tourism forum. "Start viewing them as a modern member of the industrialized world." The Chairman of Crown Entertainment Group, Packer wants what he calls "frosty relations" between Australia and China to ease. And the sooner the better, for his business at least. "Chinese tourism is changing the world," Packer told a business audience in Sydney last week and he wants a bigger slice of the action.
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Australia's economy is increasingly tied to China, yet attitudes remain "cold war"
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A recent white paper says Australia needs to embrace "the Asian Century" to thrive
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Australians still tend to see China through a historical lens as predatory and alien
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China is Australia's number one trade partner, helping Sydney skirt the global recession
They have sensitivities about agriculture, and on the @placeholder side we want to ensure it is comprehensive and provides access for all manufacturers, not just resources and energy but includes the services sector," he said.
Rudd says the critical issue is that @placeholder investment makes sense for both parties.