China’s fresh swipe at Australia over Five Eyes network ‘priorities’

Chinese government mouthpiece the Global Times has taken a new swipe at Australia, accusing us of doing the US’s bidding.

Chinese state-owned media has accused Australia of doing the US’s bidding and trying to “suppress China”.

The take-down came in response to an Australian Strategic Policy Institute article that declared the Chinese Communist Party had four critical flaws in its strategic thinking about China’s future.

This included using “thinly veiled threats and coercive actions” as well as wedge strategies, thinking international relations was about “binary choices” and conflating leadership and dominance.

However, an opinion piece published by the Global Times on Sunday said this described global power the US and not China.

“All these accusations can be applied to the US’s practices and are slaps in the Five Eyes’ own face,” Li Qingqing wrote.

“ASPI’s blaming of China for ‘threats and coercive actions’ is completely groundless.

“China has never required other countries to pick sides between China and the US, let alone imposing threats.

Australia’s relationship with China hit a boiling point last year following trade sanctions. Picture: AAP Image/Lukas Coch

“The US coerces other countries to follow Washington’s policies, including suppressing Huawei and confronting China on the Hong Kong and Xinjiang affairs.”

Australia, Canada and the UK – all countries of the Five Eyes network – have been accused of following the US and trying to “contain rising countries” such as China to maintain its global superpower status.

“To put it simply, the Five Eyes is undermining the development rights of the 1.4 billion Chinese people,” the opinion piece states.

“The five countries share a great sense of superiority toward Anglo-Saxon civilisation, and they have tried to comprehensively suppress China and other countries with different ideologies.”

Tensions between Australia and China have been simmering this year with Beijing demanding Australia stop interfering in the case of arrested journalist, Cheng Lei, and condemning racism toward international students.

However, the trading relationship was at boiling point in 2020 as China turned its attention on several Aussie goods.

Coal, barley, wine, beef, timber and seafood were all hit with trade issues, prompting concerns Australia was overreliant on its free-trade partner and needed to diversify its goods.

Beijing also released a list of grievances it had with Australia, after the federal government announced new laws to curb foreign interference.

Australia has maintained it will continue to make decisions based on its own sovereign interests, despite the perceived repercussions towards its premium goods at customs.