Premier Daniel Andrews says he’s appalled by China’s tweet but has called for a cooling of tensions

After condeming China’s tweet, Daniel Andrews hit out at federal legislation that could stop the Belt and Road deal.

One of the key architects of Victoria’s controversial Belt and Road agreement has refused to condemn the Chinese Government after an official posted a fake picture of an Australian soldier murdering an Afghan child this week.

Victorian Creative Industries Minister Danny Pearson on Wednesday refused to comment when asked if he condemned the tweet by Chinese foreign spokesman Lijian Zhao which has sparked international outrage.

Later day in the day, Daniel Andrews said that would be a “waste” of time when asked if he would speak to Mr Pearson about the issue.

“That’s a trivial matter,” the Premier said.

But Mr Andrews described the post by Mr Zhao as “beyond the pale”.

“It’s wrong. I condemn it,” Mr Andrews said.

Mr Andrews condemned the controversial tweet about Australian soldiers made by a Chinese government official, calling for a cooling off in tensions between the two countries.

But the Premier was also critical of legislation set to go before Parliament on Thursday that would allow the federal government to intervene in agreements such as the Victoria’s Belt and Road deal.

“It’s wrong. I condemn it,” he said.

“That’s no way to run a productive partnership.”

Premier Daniel Andrews. Picture: David Geraghty

But Mr Andrews said it was also necessary for the two countries to repair their relationship.

“The time has come surely now for everyone to take a breath, to sit down and work through the issues,” he said.

“We need a relationship but it has to be fair and respectful one.

“I would have thought the relationship was much more important, for both Australia and China, than to allow it to get to that point.

“That was appalling ... But having said that I think we all need to refocus.

“This is a relationship that was once strong and it can be strong again.”

Mr Andrews said China was the country’s biggest customer and he believed that trade relations could be continued despite ongoing disagreements and tensions.

“We’ve done this before, this is not a radical comment,” he said.

“We have been able to successfully, in the past, separate our trading relationship from our diplomatic relationship.

“There are things we have to call out ... But it is absolutely in our interest to continue to have our products going at increasing rates to our biggest customer.

“We need jobs more than ever right now.”

When asked about the Morrison Government’s foreign relations legislation, Mr Andrews was critical of whether it was necessary.

“This is about the power to review sister city arrangements,” he said.

“Matters of massive international intrigue ... Who Dandenong is the sister city with.

“If this is the biggest and most important thing for them to be doing at the moment, well I look forward to them explaining that to everyone.

“I don’t necessarily agree with that.”

But Mr Andrews said he was aware the government’s Belt and Road deal could also be affected.

“The status of that agreement, if that legislation passes, will be a matter for the Commonwealth,” he said.

Earlier in the week Scott Morrison said Beijing should be “utterly ashamed” for sharing the “repugnant” image, as growing tensions between the nations boiled over.

Australia’s ambassador to China Graham Fletcher met with officials on Tuesday to discuss the image that referred to alleged killings by Australian special forces soldiers between 2009 and 2013.

US Ambassador to Australia Arthur B Culvahouse Jnr said Beijing should be following Australia’s example instead of spreading “fabricated images and disingenuous statements”.

“Australia responsibly investigated and disclosed allegations that its soldiers committed crimes in Afghanistan,” he said.

“The PRC would do well to follow Australia’s example and disclose to the world all it knows about the origin of the COVID-19 virus.”

US State Department spokesman Cale Brown said the Chinese Government was engaging in the “unchecked use of disinformation and coercive diplomacy.”

“This is a new low, even for the Chinese Communist Party,” Mr Brown said.

“Its hypocrisy is obvious to all.

“As the CCP spreads disinformation, it covers up its horrendous human rights abuses … the CCP seeks to change the subject to avoid accountability. We can’t let them.”

The Prime Minister posted a long statement in Mandarin on Chinese platform WeChat on Tuesday night, explaining how Australia has dealt with the war crimes report in a very different way to how it was portrayed in Chinese propaganda.

“Australia’s transparent and honest way of dealing with this issue is a credit to this nation and a credit to all those who serve this nation in uniform,” the Mr Morrison said.

Josh Frydenberg said the deteriorating situation with China was a “very serious” issue for Australia’s economy, after Trade Minister Simon Birmingham confirmed he was considering going to the World Trade Organisation over Chinese barley tariffs.

A spokesman for the UK’s Foreign Office said the UK would stand “shoulder to shoulder” with Australia.

“Disinformation is an issue we take extremely seriously and we will continue to co-ordinate closely with Australia and other international partners to ensure our citizens are protected,” the spokesman said.