China
-
Australia at risk of losing subtlety in dealing with China (AFR, Sept 1 2020)
Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s tough realism on China has sent strong signals to Beijing about where Australia stands. But the danger now is one of being locked into an entrenched position. Continue reading »
-
Opposition to Victoria’s Belt and Road Initiative – Is it Valid?
The feverish opposition to the Victorian government’s MoU over the Belt and Road Initiative is nonsensical and shows a worrying lack of understanding from those who should know better. If we are to avoid drifting into a global backwater, we have to find ways to integrate our economy into these new developments. Continue reading »
-
Under the proposed Foreign Relations Bill the states might be down but they are not out
If Mr Morrison wants to ride roughshod over certain state interests in the external sphere he had better be prepared to brief counsel at the High Court. Continue reading »
-
PM strikes the right balance in managing China ties
Allowing the federal government to terminate deals with foreign powers is better than going down the Trump road of bans and aggressive decoupling from China. Continue reading »
-
We should seize the olive branch offered by China.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison says that Australia must “speak with one voice” when engaging with foreign governments and their related entities. All eyes are on Beijing. Continue reading »
-
The Right Direction for China-US Relations (China-US Think Tanks Media Forum – July 9 2020)
Remarks by State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the China-US Think Tanks Media Forum. Continue reading »
-
China: a manufactured threat
Is China a threat? Presidents, Prime Ministers, governments and opposition parties all tell us that it is. There is barely a day passes without the media finding new and more expansive ways to ‘prove’ the existence of this threat. And while all this goes on, the voices of dissent become marginalised. Continue reading »
-
The world cannot afford a war between US and China
It is so obvious that the world cannot afford a war between US and China. We have a very serious COVID pandemic with us. We have to try to feed the 7-8 billions global citizens around the world affected by this pandemic and keep them safe from illnesses and dying. We could be facing even Continue reading »
-
Why the US policy initiative in the South China Sea is likely to fail
On 13 July US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced a ‘new’ policy on the South China Sea, declaring that “America stands with our Southeast Asian allies and partners in protecting their sovereign rights to offshore resources. The world will not allow Beijing to treat the South China Sea as its maritime empire.” Continue reading »
-
China sympathisers’: a new “Red Scare” stalks Australian businesses (SCMP HK 10.8.2020)
As anti-China rhetoric heats up down under, expressing support for one of the region’s most important trade relationships has become a risky business. Right-wing manipulation of social media is fanning deeply ingrained racial prejudices and anti-communist sentiment, experts say Continue reading »
-
Uighur Poets on Repression and Exile (NYRB August 13, 2020)
The shocking dimensions of China’s repression in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region are now beyond dispute. Continue reading »
-
Why the West Needs to Stop its Moralising against China (E-International Relations August 10, 2020)
The great German philosopher Leibniz put it well over three centuries ago. Writing in his `Discourse on the Natural Theology of the Chinese’ he stated, `I did not want to examine to what extent the manner of worship of the Chinese could be condemned or justified… I only wanted to investigate their doctrines.’ Continue reading »
-
America’s Unholy Crusade Against China (Project Syndicate August 5, 2020)
Last month, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered an anti-China speech that was extremist, simplistic, and dangerous. If biblical literalists like Pompeo remain in power past November, they could well bring the world to the brink of a war that they expect and perhaps even seek. Continue reading »
-
Trump has a problem with China – but what is Australia doing?
Since Trump became President the relationship between the US and China has deteriorated to the point that some observers talk of war. Why is this and what should Australia’s role be? Continue reading »
-
Engaging with China about public administration reform
As some politicians and commentators call for containment of China, it is time to put forward the case for engagement instead. It can only assist with our understanding of China’s huge challenges, and maybe help encourages continuing reform. Continue reading »
-
Foreign Affairs and Trade are strange bedfellows in Australia today.
Paul Barratt’s recent article, favouring a freestanding Trade Department should be supported. As our nation stumbles through the fog of the Corona virus, it is time to navigate a path toward economic recovery in our relations with China. Continue reading »
-
China Series: Where To From Here?(A repost from 23.12.2019)
A SERIES of posts on this blog in the last two weeks have highlighted aspects of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) that are often overlooked in discussion of the bilateral relationship. We have to get used to living with the Chinese elephant in our neighbourhood. Continue reading »
-
W. Gyude Moore. China has built more infrastructure in Africa in two decades than the West has in centuries,
Where is the European or American equivalent/alternative to China’s BRI? Where is it? If Chinese loans are deceptive and are a trap and are wrong – where are the Western alternatives? How come our “shared” values do not exclude building our infrastructure? Continue reading »
-
Exposing the Hidden Hand
Clive Hamilton’s new book Hidden Hand: “Exposing How the Chinese Communist Party is Reshaping the World” is a diatribe. We do not need this hysteria when we are trying to maintain a modicum of practical relations with the People’s Republic of China. Continue reading »
-
My Kafkaesque Trial
After Jim Kable wrote in reply to Henry Reynold’s Pearls and Irritations article, ‘When the War on Terror Turns inward’: “are there any updates” on what has become of Mr Moselmane, I feel compelled to provide a brief response. Continue reading »
-
No war with China, cold or hot
Australia must say no to any war with China, cold or hot. We must not follow US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in characterising US-China relations in Manichean terms, such as “freedom and democracy against tyranny”. Continue reading »
-
Do we share values with the US?
In the escalating Sino-American tensions there is a constant refrain that while China is important for our economy, we are tied to the United States by “shared values”. But what are these shared values and how far should they guide foreign policy? Continue reading »
-
The US hypocrisy on the South China Sea and Diego Garcia
The U.S. has publicly accused China of violating the existing international order, bullying other claimants, and crimes against the environment in the South China Sea. China may well be guilty—at least from the US perspective. But the same and more can be said of U.S. behaviour regarding disputed Diego Garcia in the southern Indian Ocean. Continue reading »
-
A silent cry of Chinese Australians in this difficult period
As the Australia-China relations deteriorate further, we are trying to highlight our government focus to maintain and protect our trade relations for the sole national interest of sustaining our economic, providing jobs and peaceful co-existence for all nations in the Asia Pacific. Continue reading »
-
Uncle Sam grabs CCP playbook (APAC News, 3 August 2020)
The US State Department is quietly funding a Chinese-language news service in Australia, a move more typically associated with China’s state media propagandists. Continue reading »
-
The Communist Party of China and the Idea of `Evil’ (Oxford Politics Review, April 24 2020)
Labelling an entity like the Communist Party `evil’ or bad might work polemically. But it ends up doing a massive disservice to the many Chinese still in China who are not members. Some are deeply opposed to their government. Some are supportive. Some are in between. … But the idea that they are silent, suppressed, Continue reading »
-
The Australian Government advice on travel to Hong Kong is ‘one sided, misleading, fanciful and absurd’
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade(DFAT) seems to have joined the anti China push with misleading advice on what the new security laws mean in Hong Kong. Continue reading »
-
Pragmatism not American Militarism is the answer
Just as most Australians probably do not wish to see the ‘Americanisation’ of our police services – through excessive militarisation, more powerful arms, more sophisticated equipment and battlefield tactics – so we should resist the call to arms from the anti-China enthusiasts in Washington. Continue reading »
-
Media in the Asian Century
As it turned out, Marise Payne seemed to be using the John Howard playbook of alliance management in the Washington visit. Continue reading »
-
When the war on terror turns inward
We now have evidence of a campaign conducted in Australia to attack the credibility and the reputation of individuals and organisations seen as being too close to China. Continue reading »
