Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has done what few if any visiting leaders have ever dared: warned Australia that it must keep out of the South China Sea except when allowed to do so, and Australia must accept all and any forms of Chinese investment.
In response Australian PM Malcom Turnbull, who may well be compromised by his business interests and family ties, has reminded Australians of how lucky they are to have China as a trading partner.
Li's comments are reproduced below and readers can decide for themselves if this would have been tolerated of any visitor:
A)With regards the South China Sea, given that there is that Law Of The Sea decision against China that China will not accept:
“China pursues an independent foreign policy of peace and we pursue a national development path suited to our traditions. Likewise, we respect your choice in your foreign policy,” he told guests in Mandarin at a lunch inside federal parliament in Canberra.
B) With regards free trade, given that there is already a FTA between Australia and China:
“I come here for free trade. In the world protectionism is rising and there are more voices against economic globalisation.”
And then the warning:
“We don’t want to see (Australia) taking sides, as happened during the Cold War,”
Does anyone really believe that simply ignoring all this and instead talking up trade with China is in Australia's interest? If yes, perhaps those who hold that view might want to have a chat with one James Packer.....
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Stay out of China’s quarrels with US, Li Keqiang warns Australia
Premier Li Keqiang has warned Australia not to “take sides” in the increasing tensions between the China and the US, saying it could lead to a Cold War situation.
The message from China’s second most senior leader comes during new strains in the Australia-China relationship and a fierce domestic debate about whether Australia should reassess its American allegiance.
Canberra’s first ambassador to China Stephen FitzGerald has warned Australia would have no influence with China unless ties were strengthened with Asia’s superpower.
Mr Li said yesterday China would stay out of Australia’s affairs if Canberra stayed out of Beijing’s and warned against siding with the volatile Trump administration.
“We don’t want to see (Australia) taking sides, as happened during the Cold War,” he told politicians and Chinese and Australian business leaders.
The Premier encouraged Australia to respect China’s “development path” and stressed that his country sought “an independent foreign policy of peace”.
Mr Li confirmed Australian chilled beef exporters were expected to benefit from upgrades to the China-Australia trade relationship to be signed today, which could also consider changes to non-tariff barriers.
Meat industry executives are expecting China to allow more Australian plants to be licensed to export chilled beef to China.
Mr Li joked about being hungry for Australian beef after the headline of his opinion piece this week in The Australian. “The title of the article, it says ‘(boon) for beef market’. So, when I looked at the menu, I asked the waiter, ‘do you serve beef?’ And he said, ‘no, we have chicken for you’.”
Seeking to smooth recent tensions, Malcolm Turnbull said he wanted to “talk about our friendship, not test it” on Mr Li’s visit.
To the annoyance of China’s leadership, Australia has called on China to observe international law and stop militarisation of South China Sea islets. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop chided China on democracy in a recent Singapore speech, and the relationship was strained last year by Canberra blocking sales of agricultural and electricity assets to Chinese investors and the arrest of three Australian Crown Resorts employees.
The federal parliament is now considering a controversial extradition treaty with China, which opponents argue could be used to target Chinese dissidents living in Australia.
But Mr Turnbull said yesterday he wanted to discuss more Australia-China co-operation. Last year the University of NSW secured $30 million in funding from Chinese companies to build a new science precinct.
Chinese students in Canberra set up a welcoming party for Mr Li outside Parliament House yesterday, separated by a police barrier from pro-Tibetan supporters.
“(The Chinese embassy) didn’t organise it but they give us lots of support they gave us some funding for the flags and for the banners and for the food as well,” said Ping Lu, president of the China Student and Scholars Association at University of Canberra.
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