International students key to realising Australia's FTA ambitions in Asia

With the announcement of the recently concluded Free Trade Agreement between Australia and China, followed by similar agreements to liberalise trade with South Korea and Japan, few could fault Canberra for not taking trade with Asia seriously.

Bookended by the Labor Party's Asian Century White Paper and the Liberal Party's New Colombo Plan, Australia's forward thinking stands head and shoulders above our western counterparts.

Australia has set the structural framework to open and accelerate trade links, and has established a platform to produce a new wave of Asia literate and bilingual talent into the local workforce.

But inevitably the future face of business in Asia will not just be the Australian participants of prestigious student exchange programs.

International students studying in Australia from North East Asia well ultimately be the key in realising Australia's regional trade ambitions under the new FTA agreements. International students in Australia thought are too often overlooked as a commodity rather than as an investment for the future.

Every year Australia effortlessly pumps out an enormous cohort of potential trade envoys to the region and with no cost to the Australian taxpayer.

Now that trade liberalisation will open new markets in North East Asia for Australian goods and services, it is international students returning to the region who are best placed to connect Australia with the market for live cattle, milk, etc., over the coming years.

Connecting Australian farmers and agricultural companies to the local market - and especially in China - is no easy feat. China is ranked 128 in the world by the World Bank Group for starting a business. Japan and South Korea are ranked 83 and 17 respectively on the same list.

A white face and broken Mandarin is a meek force to navigate the labyrinth of bureaucratic paperwork and regulatory requirements, or to secure deals and coordinate logistics and supply routes in China.

Australian entrepreneurs and companies need local partners in Asia that they can trust. Returning international students who are bilingual and familiar with the Australian way of life will help to tick that box.

Returning international students typically possess extensive family business connections and access to capital in their home countries as well.

As they gain more experience in the workforce, returning international students are also absorbing important posts previously occupied by lavishly paid expatriate workers.

But little investment is made into integrating international students into Australia's regional trade strategy. In fact, scores of international students return to Asia every year sombre about the lack of commercial opportunities and experience Australia provided them.

Australian employment policies and norms discriminate international students from gaining vital internship experience. Australian universities then provide little support for connecting international students with employment opportunities in Asia.

Unless returning international students work for an Australian company in their home country, they quickly lose connection with Australia.

Australian companies with operations in Asia such as Macquarie and Cochlear should be opening their doors to international students for short-term internships in Australia before transferring talent to their offices in Asia. International organisations with a branch in Australia, including KPMG, could introduce a similar program for talent identification and training.

Funding should also be allocated for international students to participate in entrepreneurial incubator projects. These projects provide training, mentoring and foster new trade channels between Australia and Asia.

Further investment is then necessary to ensure that international students in Australia are better integrated into Australian society. An isolated experience studying abroad in Melbourne or Sydney does not render well for promoting bilateral understanding or developing future trade and people-to-people connections.

Beyond professional experience, international students would benefit from university orientation days with local students and language exchange activities with Australian students learning an Asian language.

Organisations such as the Australia China Youth Association and the Australia Indonesia Youth Association already play an important role in fostering social and cultural integration as well as people-to-people links. More funding and new organisations are needed to serve other pockets of the international student community including Korea, Japan and India.

Abroad, we must encourage returning international students to stay engaged with Australian network groups including the Australian Chamber of Commerce, alumni associations and Embassy events.

Trade is unequivocally a two way street, and if Australia is to truly realise its economic potential under the new free trade agreements, we can't afford to lose connection and waste the sizeable pool of educated talent returning to Asia.