Trade war? China was buying goods from Australia long before 1788 abc.net.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from abc.net.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
February 5, 2021
Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal China’s influence in Australia, real or alleged, is a major issue in politics today.
Numerous Chinese investments in Australia have been blocked. The Chinese company Huawei has been banned from participating in the 5G rollout.
In June NSW Labor MP Shaoquett Moselmane had his ALP membership suspended after an Australian Federal Police raid on his office over allegations that he was being cultivated by Chinese government agents. He was never charged and his ALP membership was reinstated in November. Former staffer John Zhang remains under investigation.
Academic Clive Hamilton has been a leading anti-China voice. He says Australia is “the global leader pushing back against the Chinese Communist Party’s interference”.
Can Australia Restore Trade with China in a Hostile Political Environment?
Australia s new Trade Minister will need to navigate the treacherous terrain between trade and geopolitics, which will not be easy given the countervailing forces at work within the Morrison government. These are driving decisions to lower the curtain on significant Chinese investments in the Australian economy.
The new trade minister, Dan Tehan, has been handed one of the Morrison government’s most demanding roles. Despite a lot of chest-thumping in government circles about the need to stand up to “Chinese bullying”, Tehan’s task will be to find a way to restore a constructive trading partnership with China in the national interest.
AUSTRALIA will lose the privileged position of influence it sometimes enjoyed under Donald Trump during the Biden administration, but the loss will be offset by a more orderly and predictable White House, US political experts believe. Trump rocked convention, and his rise prompted Canberra to try some pretty unorthodox diplomacy of its own. Ambassador Joe Hockey once posed as a journalist to get into a Republican presidential debate, while Malcolm Turnbull became the second leader to congratulate Donald Trump on his victory, leapfrogging the pecking order as it were, by getting Trump s private phone number from golfer Greg Norman. The diplomatic efforts paid off when Australia won exemptions from Trump administration tariffs on steel and aluminium - but Dr John Lee, Senior Fellow with the US Studies Centre, said the relationship would now revert to what it generally has been before Trump, which is still a pretty good position .
The new trade minister, Dan Tehan, has been handed one of the Morrison government’s most demanding roles. Despite a lot of chest-thumping in government circles about the need to stand up to “Chinese bullying”, Tehan’s task will be to find a way to restore a constructive trading partnership with China in the national interest.
Beijing’s trade reprisals for perceived political slights should not be countenanced. However, there is no useful purpose in overreacting to China’s bad behaviour.
The business community, which has been alarmed by a deterioration in the China relationship, will watch Tehan carefully as he outlines his ideas for engagement.