China-Australia economic, social opportunities opening: expert

Gonski modestly said he's been very lucky in his business life to be involved in many of Australia's influential organizations and social reform programs.

"I've found in my life that the harder one works, the harder you seek to be successful, and provided you have proper ethics and morality, you should do quite well," Gonski said. "I don't have a secret for success, but what I do believe in is that when you are involved with a company, you give it your absolute attention. You work hard for it (and) you bring to it all that you are capable of bringing."

After subsequent trips to China, Gonski said he understood what the feeling of success by walking down a Chinese street.

When offering advice to China's younger generation, Gonski said above all else, it takes passion to become successful.

"I would work towards what I was passionate about," Gonski said. "I wouldn't go into business just because it makes money if that's not my passion."

Gonski said the quality of Australian universities is why passionate Chinese students are increasingly studying in Australia.

Education is now Australia's fourth-largest services export with record revenue of A$16.69 billion ($13 billion) in 2014, projected to be worth A$30 billion ($23.23 billion) by 2020.

"Australian universities, including UNSW, spend a lot of their efforts in making sure that the student experience is good, the lectures are of top quality (and) the teachers are excellent," Gonski said. "(Quality) will continue to be high... because ( Australians) value each of our Universities values."

Gonski says it is important for Chinese, which comprise the largest proportion (35 percent) of the almost 217,000 international students studying at Australian higher education institutions, and Australian students not just to take advantage of structured learning, but also the social aspect of learning in culturally diverse institutions.

"I urge all of the Australians that (attend UNSW) to enjoy the inter-relationship with our Chinese students," Gonski said. "It's terribly exciting to me when I tour places like China and so on, people turn around to me and say 'I went to University of New South Wales.' I like that a lot."