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China has overtaken the UK to become Australia’s biggest source of migrants in an historic shift that underlines the strengthening ties between the two Asia Pacific nations. 中国已经取代英国成为澳大利亚最大的移民来源国. 这一具有历史性意义的转变突显了中国和澳大利亚这两个亚太国之间的关系不断加强. Migrants from China jumped a fifth to nearly 30,000 out of Australia’s total annual intake of 168,685, according to government figures published on Wednesday. The rise comes at a time when Australia is grappling with skilled worker shortages, especially in its booming mining and energy industries that are investing record sums to meet China’s demands for commodities and fuel. China is Australia’s biggest two-way trading partner. 周三澳洲政府公布的数据显示, 澳大利亚每年的吸纳移民总人数为168685人, 其中中国人占30000人, 较去年增长五分之一. 此次增长恰逢澳洲正在对抗熟练工人短缺困境, 特别是在快速增长的矿业和资源行业尤为严重. 澳洲正在这两个行业上进行空前的投资, 以满足中国对大宗商品和燃料的需求. 中国是澳洲最大的双边贸易伙伴. Australia’s jobless rate has flat-lined this year at about 4.9 per cent, considered close to full employment, and the government has forecast it will fall to 4.5 per cent in 2013. The greater migrant numbers from China helped offset the continued decline from the UK, where numbers fell for a fifth straight year to slightly less than 24,000. India, now Australia’s third biggest migrant source, has also declined in recent years and fell 6 per cent to 21,768. | 
