Scott Morrison points finger at Xi Jinping for Australia’s China tension

Scott Morrison has laid blame for tensions between Australia and China in a speech where he spruiked his Covid response as world class.

Scott Morrison has pointed the finger at Chinese president Xi Jinping’s “assertive tone” for flaring tensions with Australia during his time as prime minister.

In an address to the Asian Leadership Conference in Seoul on Thursday, Mr Morrison accused Mr Jinping of leading the current Chinese communist government down an aggressive foreign policy path.

“We have no quarrel with the Chinese people. We have a deep relationship. There are over a million Australians of Chinese descent in Australia,” he said, according to The Australian.

“But there has been a very different tone under the most recent Chinese leadership, under President Xi. There has been a more autocratic tone to this leader of this government. That is not necessarily a statement about a Communist Party regimen – there is a Communist Party regimen in Vietnam and we enjoy a very good relations with Vietnam.

Former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison speaking to the Asian Leadership Conference in Seoul on Thursday. Picture: Supplied

“(But) the current leadership of the Communist Party in China has taken a much more assertive tone and Australia’s response and my response was not seeking to provoke but to simply stand firm and to stand our ground. And I think this is very important because if you don’t, further incursions are taken.”

“We were talking before about what happened some years ago in the South China Sea as islands turned into airports. Nothing happened, so further ground was taken. So now we find ourselves in a situation which we would prefer wasn’t the case.

“So I think standing your ground on your values shouldn’t be seen as aggressive or in any way provocative. I think it is just seen as a country respecting itself and seeking to respect others,” he said.

The former PM said he thought Australia should work to engage better with China instead of isolate itself completely, and said he suspected China would “remain our biggest trading partner”.

Scott Morrison and Mahathir bin Mohamad (right) at the Asian leaders summit in Seoul. Picture: Supplied

“That is not the point; what has changed over the past five, six, seven years, is a more assertive China seeking to assert its presence and influence over sovereign countries in the region, including Australia,” he said.

“I would agree we must engage and not isolate, but that engagement comes with rules and global rules and the respect for those rules, respect for the sovereignty of each other’s country and not interfering in their democracy.”

Elsewhere in his speech, Mr Morrison spruiked Australia’s handling of the Covid pandemic and insisted its response was world class.

Scott Morrison and Mike Pence at the Asian leaders summit in Seoul. Picture: Supplied

“The results we were able to achieve were no accident. It was ‘no fluke’ as we like to say,” he said.

“Australia’s results do tell a proud story. One of the lowest fatality rates, highest vaccination rates and strongest economic performances of any developed country in the world.

“Australia’s response saved an estimated 40,000 lives.”

Mr Morrison, who provided a copy of his speech to The Australian, is expected to quit politics before the next election and is believed to be chasing board roles.