The Chinese New Year is perhaps the biggest day of the year in every Asian culture throughout the region. In Vietnam, it's called Tet and those of us who remember the Vietnam War will know that the "Tet Offensive", as it became known, gave the Americans their first real taste of their inevitable defeat.

I have been arguing for a long time that we must embrace Asia. Or as Paul Keating famously said, "if we don't, it will be at our peril".

And he didn't just mean economically. It must also include our cultural lives and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra will continue to establish the tradition of a Chinese New Year concert.

It will be a thrill, as chairman of the orchestra, to host China's rock star composer and conductor, Tan Dun, to lead the band in a performance of his new work, Nu Shu, which celebrates the secret language and ancient songs of mountain women from Hunan province.

Tan Dun moves easily between West and East. He a leader in a new age of artists who understand and value a breadth of cultures, having composed the music for the hand back celebrations of Hong Kong as well as the soundtrack of the blockbuster film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

Celebrating the Lunar or Chinese New Year is building worldwide. Being one of the fortunate Australians to be on the board of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, I was lucky enough to attend equivalent celebrations at the Lincoln Centre in New York last Tuesday.

It was a gala of galas attended by the ambassador to the United Nations, Liu Jieyi, together with the good and the great of the "big apple" including James Wolfensohn, the Australian former head of the World Bank. It was the night off for the Security Council, with half the members attending the concert.

The performance included the legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma with the great conductor Long Yu, whom we hope to get in Melbourne.

At the Avery Fisher Hall reception, I looked around and there was our own Kevin Rudd looking very much part of the important people scene of New York.

Over a very tasty dim sum, a little bird whispered in my ear that our former prime minister is lobbying hard to become the next head of the UN and that he's up against New Zealand's former prime minister, Helen Clark. Perhaps his famed capacities with Mandarin might help him secure a vote or two. He seems to be bulking up for the challenge.

Louise says, "Are you saying he is putting on weight?"

Impressive statistics about China just keep rolling out.

China is the second-largest economy in the world by nominal GDP and, according to the IMF, the number one economy by purchasing power parity. Its GDP represents 14.9 per cent of the world's total economy.

US government debt is double China's. China has the highest value of exports globally: $1.97 trillion, 26 per cent more than the United States.

It is the largest manufacturing economy in the world and over the past 30 years, its total economy has averaged an annual growth rate of 10 per cent. Although this will slow as they cleverly manage their boom.

I had a wonderful and insightful lunch whilst in New York with Zhu Min, who is the very impressive managing director of the IMF.

With 20 per cent of the world's population living in China, it has rapidly become the world's fastest-growing consumer market and the world's largest importer of goods.

Its population is the equivalent of North America, South America, Australia, New Zealand, and all of Western Europe combined but with one major difference, it is still growing strongly.

With facts and trends like this, it is essential that we start to come together. Although China sees us as a friend and we should continue this.

We need to face the fact that this is a time for transcending national borders and cultural boundaries.

It's a time for respect and understanding and if you get that, you can start to forget about borders altogether.