China said on Thursday it had suspended an economic agreement with Australia.
Sydney:
Australia on Thursday described China s decision to freeze regular bilateral trade talks as disappointing, but insisted Canberra was still willing to talk despite ties reaching a new low.
Promoted
Trade Minister Dan Tehan said the now-suspended China-Australia Strategic Economic Dialogue provided an important forum for the two countries to work through issues , but noted no such talks had taken place since 2017. China earlier said it had suspended the agreement as relations between the two sides have collapsed into acrimony.
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Beijing tells Australian defence minister Peter Dutton to abide by one-China principle after Taiwan warning
Dutton told an ABC interviewer that conflict could not be ‘discounted’ and suggested a Chinese lease on the port of Darwin could be under threat
Relations between the two countries have already been under strain after Canberra called for an inquiry into the origins of Covid-19
This scheme is very focused on Australia s national interest, Australia s Foreign Minister had said.
Beijing, China:
China on Thursday said Australia s sudden scrapping of a Belt and Road Initiative deal risked serious harm to relations and warned of retaliatory actions, but Canberra insisted it would not be bullied.
The federal government pulled the deal with Victoria state late Wednesday in a move justified by the defence minister as necessary to prevent Australia hosting a giant infrastructure scheme used for propaganda .
Australia overruled the state s decision to join the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) the flagship of President Xi Jinping s geostrategic vision for the Asia-Pacific region by saying the agreement was inconsistent with Australia s foreign policy.
When China’s ambassador to Australia, Cheng Jingye, summoned journalists to the Chinese embassy last week, this was not an occasion for polite exchanges on a troubled relationship between Beijing and Canberra.
Cheng was intent on communicating a forceful message to Australian reporters that China was intent on fighting back against what it regards as a great wall of unfavourable publicity about its treatment of its Uyghur minority.
In some media reporting of the press conference, the exercise was referred to as a “charm offensive”. However, a more accurate characterisation would be to describe it as an attempt by China to draw a line under increasingly negative foreign reporting of its activities.
A powerful and assertive China poses significant policy challenges for Australia. Many of our most pressing policy issues have crucially important China angles, from freedom of speech on university campuses to scientific research collaboration and supply chain management.
Yet, there is a dire lack of policy expertise on China in the public service and few signs this is improving.
The Australian Public Service (APS) has long recognised the importance of Asia expertise generally. However, an independent review in 2019 noted that while Asia proficiency was a core focus of the 2012 Asian Century White Paper,
coordinated and sustained action to deepen Asia-relevant capabilities was not taken then, and it remains a skills gap across the public service.