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The View | Australia only has itself to blame for trade woes with China after siding with the US
- Australia has no business playing the victim when the lines between strategy and economic interests have become increasingly blurred
- Beijing should treat with caution renewed efforts to get relations back on track, and avoid rewarding Canberra for its coercive behaviour
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Representatives from the Australian government are scheduled to embark on a trip to Beijing this week, signalling the end of three years of strained diplomatic relations.
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This trip is an ongoing attempt to fully restore ties before the eventual visit by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, expected to be in October, coinciding with the anniversary of the historic visit by prime minister Gough Whitlam in 1973.
It is unclear what environment Canberra wishes to create from these talks for his visit. The increasingly negative attitude towards Beijing, especially in Australia’s media, has alienated the goodwill between citizens of the two countries.
In a poll by the Lowy Institute, 42 per cent of Chinese Australians felt the media reporting on China was too negative, with 78 per cent of Chinese respondents to a different survey believing Australia’s media lacked balance, depth and independence when reporting on Chinese-Australian communities. Seven in 10 respondents believed the media portrayed Chinese communities with suspicion and a risk to Australia’s national security.
The lines between strategy and economic interests, which have been a main characteristic of Sino-Australian relations, have increasingly blurred for Canberra. Kurt Campbell, the US National Security Council’s Coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs, reportedly told European Union officials that the Aukus agreement “gets Australia off the fence and locks it in for the next 40 years”.
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Chinese, Australian foreign ministers meet in Beijing in sign of relationship thaw
Chinese, Australian foreign ministers meet in Beijing in sign of relationship thaw
The current high-level visit has been building up since last year, when Foreign Minister Penny Wong visited China to mark the 50th anniversary of the two countries establishing diplomatic relations. That visit and this one are by no means a reset or a restart in relations.
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