Andrew Forrest appeals for an end to anti-China rhetoric
Mining magnate Andrew Forrest says if politicians don’t stop trying to score points off China, every Australian will pay.
Mining billionaire Andrew Forrest has called on Australian politicians to stop anti-Chinese rhetoric, warning it will impact future business talks between the two countries.
Mr Forrest, who met with Chinese President Xi Jinping yesterday, told The Australian that whether it was from Greens, Labor or Liberals, edging out the small “paranoid” voter with anti-China rhetoric was incredibly costly to everyone living in Australia.
“China has choices like Australia has choices,” the Fortescue Metals Group chairman said.
“They don’t have to procure from us. They don’t have to invite us up to their country and their economy will dwarf the US economy one day.”
Concerns about the strained relationship between the Australian and Chinese governments dominated talks yesterday at the annual Australia-China Business Leaders Dialogue, a long standing event championed by Mr Forrest that is held during the Boao Forum for Asia.
Australian business leaders at the talks included Woodside chief Peter Coleman, Australia Post head Christine Holgate and AMP boss Craig Meller.
Mr Forrest said Australian business leaders struggled in the meeting to defend some of the statements made by all sides of politics.
“Each of the political parties have tried to score minuscule non-decided votes by creating China fear and that carries a cost to every single Australian,” he said.
The lack of representation by senior Australian government ministers at the Boao forum in Hainan, which featured a landmark speech by Mr Xi on Tuesday, has been widely noted by Australian delegates at the conference.
Former treasurer Peter Costello said yesterday the absence of Australian ministers was evidence of a “strained” relationship between the two countries.
The Australian reported last week that Western Australia’s Regional Development and Agriculture Minister Alannah MacTiernan, a former Labor federal MP, could not got a visa to attend the conference, which she blamed on souring relations between China and the Turnbull government.
The government has played down the concerns but one senior source told The Australian that the lack of representation by Australian ministers at the forum was because they weren’t invited by the Chinese government.
Mr Forrest said other countries had political representation at the event, with which he has been heavily involved with for 10 years, and they had been talking up their local companies to Chinese business and government officials.
“Australian companies did not have that luxury. We had no minister here and you have to wonder why that is,” he said.
“I am representing Australian industry and Australian people, saying to the Chinese we have a fantastic relationship with China at the working level, you can trust us, we have a fair go character that suits China.
“I’m then simply looking back at both sides of government saying stop trying to score points off China, it is doing us no good up here.”
Mr Forrest added that an official had told him the two countries had got to a point that when the two embassies met they read off pre-prepared speeches to each other.
“That is not a relationship,” he said.
“We need to be really careful about the sucker punch, when America wants Australia to prosecute its foreign policy don’t forget that those two leaders, Xi and Trump, actually like each other.”
Mr Forrest said the relationship between the two countries could be smoothed but he said the political rhetoric had to match the business professionalism between the countries.
“We share a common future in this part of the world. We are good mates with North America, they are happily on the other side of the world, our backyard is the Asia Pacific region,” he said.
“I can see clearly the future potential of a great relationship with a high growth economy and people who want harmonious growth for their country. I can see just as clearly what Australia can look like without that. Australia will begin to whither on the vine and that cannot happen.”
* The reporter travelled to the Boao Forum for Asia as a guest of Fortescue Metals Group
