Shanghai: Victoria's relationship with China has become remorselessly transactional.

Our two biggest export services, education and tourism, are centred on bringing hundreds of thousands of Chinese people here and emptying their pockets. The stuff we buy from China is mainly just that - stuff that can be made in other places but not so cheaply.

Mandarin is taught in Victorian schools but most of us can't read a word or speak much more. We might travel to China for business but rarely for fun. Aside from food, we aren't particularly interested in Chinese culture, history, film or literature. We all rely on China, in one way or another, for our wealth and comfort but don't think of modern China as a friend.

With his gift for remorselessly transactional politics, Daniel Andrews was a premier well-suited to extracting value for the Victorian economy from this relationship. Now that he no longer holds public office, he is leveraging the access he gained during a decade running the state to line his own pockets.