Coronavirus: It’s right to stand up to bullying Beijing

China throwing its weight around is something the world needs to get used to. But that doesn’t mean we should accept it unconditionally and simply acquiesce to their bullying approach.

The simple fact is that China is not a democracy, doesn’t play by the international rules, and believes that intimidation is fair practice in international affairs.

I have been stunned by some of the deferential calls from senior members of the opposition when it comes to China. They have been more critical of democratically elected parliamentarians on the conservative side calling China out than the Chinese government for its blatant bullying.

While maverick voices aren’t always helpful in a delicate international environment, I would rather put up with them expressing free thought than the alternative of shutting them down because they risk upsetting a bully.

Yes, Australia’s prosperity is highly dependent on our trade with China, and if it decides to play hard ball in that relationship we will have serious economic hardship. But that is a price worth paying to avoid subjugating ourselves to an international bully. Especially one that won’t embrace democracy and terrorises its own people.

The rule of law in China means nothing.

While I accept that politicians, especially minister, need to be more diplomatic than I’m being in this commentary, outward shows of respect shouldn’t morph into sycophancy. When our trade minister can’t even get hold of his Chinese counterpart for a discussion it is laughable that defenders of China talk about the need for respect between the nations.

And if China is willing to punish us for our role in calling for an international investigation into the origins of the coronavirus – which of course should happen, with even China finally conceding the issue – by slapping tariffs on our exports, we should be willing to call it out and seek alternative markets and arrangements, even if they disadvantage China.

Even if they stoke tensions.

The world is learning the lesson of how concerning a rising superpower which doesn’t respect democratic norms really is. Letting China in on the trading relationship major democratic countries have long enjoyed without state based reform is becoming the problem it always was.

Yes, the United States has long thrown its weight around on the world stage, as do other major powers. But today’s threats are all the more concerning when the nation doing the bullying shuns the rule of law and due process, and doesn’t operate domestically as a democracy. At least when the US rises up against its government, poor international practice becomes a domestic problem. That isn’t the case for undemocratic China. At least not to the same extent.

The rise of China is all the more concerning at the moment because of the challenges the United States is facing in dealing with this pandemic. Donald Trump makes a bad situation worse, with his rhetoric and actions.

All the more reason for like-minded democracies to band together and stand up to a bully who shuns the very institutions on which our system is built.

Peter van Onselen is a professor of politics and public policy at the University of Western Australia and Griffith University.