Report: China generates biggest employment benefits in Australia

The Sydney Opera House is one of Australia's premier tourist destinations.[Photo/Xinhua]

An economic model developed by the institute has found that up to 500,000 local jobs would be lost if China's growth rate slowed from the targeted 6.5 percent this year to less than 3 percent.

The report said this is because Chinese investors have a strong interest in the construction sector.

In 2014, former US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton cautioned Australia not to put all its eggs in China's basket. Then Minister Malcolm Turnbull quipped: "I'm sure that we'd love to export vast quantities of iron ore to the United States but they've never shown any enthusiasm in buying them."

According to Australian Financial Reviews on Thursday, no country or even group of countries can absorb the 650 million tons that China does in Australia.

Over the past 12 months, China has snapped up $95 billion worth of Australian goods, eight times more than the US. Australian services gained another $11 billion thanks to China's voracious appetite.

A poll from Lowy Institute, an independent Australian think tank, found that 43 percent of Australians regard China as Australia's most important relationship overall, the same proportion that nominated the US as their main security ally.

Australia's labor market is said to be softening and wages are growing at the slowest pace on record, with one of every six jobs in Australia being supported by foreign investments. With the end of the mining investment boom, labor-absorbing sectors, including construction, manufacturing, and services are being encouraged, which are relatively restricted by Australia right now.