Tim Blair: So much for China’s talk on friendship, their real intentions are clear

Diplomats rarely give much away in public, but a speech by Chinese spokesman Wang Xining provided worrying insight into the thinking of his Beijing bosses, writes Tim Blair.

As Australia’s political class rips itself apart over unprovable 33-year-old rape claims, the significance of a Chinese diplomat’s recent speech quickly fades.

That speech, delivered at a business dinner in Canberra by China‘s Deputy Head of Mission Wang Xining, very publicly revealed that China had shifted Australia into the “to be conquered” column.

Anyone who walked out on that speech during its first half or so — and walking out is always advisable when a communist is talking — would have missed Wang’s more menacing remarks.

He began with an extended ode to the great affection between the Chinese dictatorship and ­Australia.

Senior Chinese diplomat Wang Xining says Australia hurt China’s feelings. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

“Today I would like to talk about friendship, because friendship is much more treasured in hard times like what we experienced last year,” Wang said, according to an official Chinese embassy transcript.

“As friends, we help each other, support each other and sail through difficult times together, which makes the friendship stronger.”

Nothing says “friendship” quite like the gift of a deadly lab-escaped or bat-meat virus that’s killed 2.6 million people.

China, Wang continued, “was the only major economy that achieved positive economic growth in terms of GDP last year. The growth rate was 2.3 per cent. So friendship worked last year”.

To be precise, it worked for China. And only China. Funny, that.

By the way, when did China become, in Wang’s words, a “major economy”? When China pleads for relaxed carbon dioxide emissions by comparison to Australia and other Western nations, it always defines ­itself as a poor little “developing ­economy”.

A wet market in Wuhan in China, where COVID-19 began. Picture: Hector Retamal/AFP

Quite an admission there from ol’ Wang, who then criticised local media over coverage of last year’s hoarding of face masks and other protective equipment by Chinese interests in Australia.

“These claims ran rampant at certain times,” Wang said. “However, it finally turned out all these claims were not true, and some of the reports amount to libelling and were brought to lawsuit for defamation.”

This never happened.

“China was hurt,” Wang wailed. “The enthusiasm of our friends in Australia was chilled.”

Yes. Kind of like a morgue.

“Last year, the collaboration in various fields was under a series of suspicions from a small number of people.

“The excuse for such suspicion is China’s threats to Australian sovereignty and security, which is totally ridiculous.”

Supporters hold up banners following a bail hearing for 47 Hong Kong opposition activists charged with violating the city's national security law. Picture: Anthony Kwan/Getty Images

Oh, totally. It’s almost as crazy as the idea China would or break its own agreement on Hong Kong’s autonomy. And run slave labour camps. And harvest organs from living ­prisoners.

“It appears to me,” Wang went on, now in full menace mode, “those who claimed for these fabricated arguments do not want to be Chinese friends …

“When these people were barking loud, our friends had to bite the ­bullet.”

The ABC last year claimed Canberra viewed Wang “as a bit of a charmer — smooth, cerebral and cultured”. Not really seeing it myself.

Take, for example, Wang’s “cerebral and cultured” dismissal of reports that more than one million minority Uyghurs are trapped in Xinjiang concentration camps.

“There is an Australian uncle, Jerry Grey,” Wang explained, swatting aside evidence presented by escaped camp survivors, just about every human rights organisation on earth and all major news outlets.

“He and his wife went on a bicycle ride in Xinjiang. After he came back he told his friends about what he saw and experienced in Xinjiang, and few people would believe in him.”

A rally for Australian supporters of the oppressed Uyghur people. Picture: Mike Burton

Grey, it turns out, is a retired Australian security guard who has lived in China with his Chinese wife since 2004. Two years ago, on his bike ride, he claimed not to have seen any concentration camps. The defence rests.

Wang’s innovative “bloke on a bike” legal argument now ended, the threats began.

“History will prove that it is wise and visionary to be China’s friends, and your children and grandchildren would be proud of you to be China’s friends,” Wang advised.

“Those who deliberately vilify China and sabotage the friendship between our two countries … out of their sectoral or selfish interest will be cast aside in history.

China’s ambassador to Australia sounds like a James Bond villain with his statements about future Australians paying the price for the current breakdown in relations between the two countries. Artwork: Terry Pontikos

“Their children will be ashamed of mentioning their names in the ­history.”

The Australian National University’s Professor John Blaxland noted this shift in tone, telling Sky’s Catherine McGregor: “This speech was meant to be out there and it was threatening.

“It was threatening to people who have been critical of China, the People’s Republic of China, and of the Chinese Communist Party.”

The Melbourne Herald Sun’s appropriately scathing Patrick Carlyon also picked up on a telling detail deleted from the official English version of Wang’s speech: “Lost in translation, literally, was the removal of the word ‘scumbag’ in the English transcript of the speech.

“Scumbags, apparently, are Australians who criticise China.”

So much, then, for all of that bogus “friendship” talk.

Wang is a dick, but there is one way his vision of ashamed Australian children can come true.

It’ll just require invasion, oppression and re-education.

China seems up for this. After all, it’s had plenty of practice.