Julie Bishop says Australia will compete with China in the Pacific
CHINA’S Ambassador to Australia has bluntly told the Turnbull Government to have less of a “Cold War mentality” to help “dispel the clouds” between the two countries.
National
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CHINA’S Ambassador to Australia has bluntly advised the Turnbull Government to have less of a “Cold War mentality” to help “dispel the clouds” between the two countries.
In a frank speech to a business forum in Canberra this morning, Ambassador Cheng Jingye said the two countries needed “more mutual trust” and less “bigotry”.
At the same forum, which comes as the federal government tries to repair frosty relations with Beijing, the peak body for Australia-China business relations also warned bilateral ties need a “reset and repair” or trade could be affected,
Australia China Business Council national president John Brumby said the government relations had been “fraying at the edges” last year and was now in “more challenging circumstances”.
“While the trade and investment relationship remains robust, the deterioration in the government-to-government relationship has the potential to undermine our business opportunities and certainly our future success,” he said.
Ambassador Cheng told the forum: “It is my belief that in order to dispel the clouds and achieve sustainable development in our bilateral relations the two countries need to have more interaction and inclusiveness, with less bias and bigotry.”
“We need to see each others’ development and policy intentions from a more positive perspective with less Cold War mentality.
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“We need to build more mutual trust with less misunderstanding.
“We need to development more connections between our two countries and two peoples with less barriers. And we need to respect each others common interests and mutual concerns while managing the differences in a constructive manner.”
The Ambassador’s speech also highlighted the tremendous growth of China in the 40 years since it had opened to the world and the benefits further co-operation could bring to Australia.
He also said China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi had told Australia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop when they met on the sidelines of the G20 that China was willing to “co-operate with Australia on how to practically improve practical relations”. Minister Wang had also told Ms Bishop that China “never interferes with the internal affairs of other countries, let alone carry out so-called infiltration of other countries”.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Ms Bishop will speak at the forum later today.
At the forum, Mr Brumby flagged the ACBC’s aim to stage a women’s AFL match in Shanghai next year as part of efforts to help promote links between the two nations.
Earlier today, Fairfax Media reported that Australia will compete with China in the region to ensure island nations aren’t trapped into “debt-for-equity” swaps.
The swaps have reportedly been seen elsewhere in the world including in Sri Lanka where control of a large port was handed to a Chinese company on a 99 year lease after the government was unable to make debt repayments.
There are fears a string of similar swaps in the Pacific, where China has funded the construction of roads, ports, airports, and buildings as part of its massive Belt and Road Initiative, could ultimately give the superpower a network of assets that could later become military facilities if nations are unable to repay their loans.
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Ms Bishop told the publication: “What we don’t want is for countries to have no other options … And Australia should take a very proactive part in that.”
She said Australia’s development aid in the region was both complementary to China’s moves and competitive.
“They are complementary in the sense that we recognise that there’s a need for infrastructure investment in the Pacific and we’re encouraging it, competitive in the sense that we want people to have options — they don’t have to only accept one outcome,” she said.
Concerns about unsustainable loans offered to small nations led to a flare up in tensions between Australia and China earlier this year when International Development Minister Concetta Fierravanti-Wells accused China of building “useless buildings”, “roads to nowhere” and “white elephants”.
Ms Bishop told Fairfax Media Australia was concerned about any country, including China, offering pacific nations unsustainable loans.
“They are sovereign nations,” she said.
“We want to ensure that they retain their sovereignty, that they have sustainable economies and that they are not trapped into unsustainable debt outcomes. The trap can then be a debt-for-equity swap and they have lost their sovereignty.”
She said Australia wanted to be the “natural partner of choice” for the Pacific.
“We recognise we’re not the only partner, but we would like the Pacific to see Australia as providing them with the kind of support that maintains their sovereignty, maintains their economic stability and doesn’t become an unsustainable debt burden,” she said.
“That’s what Australia aims to provide and we encourage others to do the same, including China.”
Ms Bishop told the publication she had discussed the possibility of co-operating on projects with British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.
She also said they had discussed advising small nations on “what would be an appropriate sustainable investment for them”.