Australian and Chinese diplomats meet to seek apology over fake war crimes meme

Australian embassy officials met Chinese counterparts in Beijing, as Five Eyes security allies rallied behind Scott Morrison.

Scott Morrison urged Coalition MPs not to amplify the tweet posted by ­Chinese Foreign Ministry deputy director-general Zhao Lijian featuring a fake image of an Australian soldier.

Australian embassy officials have met Chinese counterparts in Beijing to seek a formal apology over the offensive fake war crimes meme shared by a senior Communist official, as Five Eyes security allies rallied behind Scott Morrison.

Consular officials from Australia met Chinese Foreign Ministry representatives late on Tuesday, after a meeting planned the night before was suddenly cancelled.

The Australian understands the US State Department was expected to issue a strongly worded statement overnight in support of Australia, following similar moves by Britain and New Zealand condemning China’s action.

The Prime Minister on Tuesday urged Coalition MPs not to amplify the tweet posted by ­Chinese Foreign Ministry deputy director-general Zhao Lijian, which depicted an Australian soldier slitting the throat of an Afghan child.

Although Beijing has frozen contact between leaders and ministers over the past 12 months, The Australian understands back-channel relationships between diplomatic officials are still functioning.

Twitter refused Scott Morrison’s demand to remove the offensive Chinese post.

A federal government source said the meeting had gone ahead but would not disclose the tone of the meeting or details of the exchanges between officials.

Speaking to the Coalition partyroom on Tuesday, Mr Morrison acknowledged the seriousness of Australia’s relationship with China and called for dialogue that would foster a working relationship between the two countries.

Attempts to ease tensions with Beijing will be tested further this week, with the Morrison government’s Foreign Relations Bill expected to pass through the parliament by Thursday. The legislation would give the federal government powers to scuttle agreements between foreign governments and Australian states, councils and universities. President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative deal struck between the Victorian government and Beijing would likely be a target of the new laws.

China’s embassy in Canberra, which came in for criticism from US ambassador Arthur Culvahouse Jr last week after it circulated a list of 14 grievances against the Morrison government, again refused to apologise over the tweet.

An embassy spokeswoman on Tuesday accused Australian MPs and the media of “misreading and overreacting” to the tweet, which was described by Mr Morrison as an outrageous and appalling slur against the Australian Defence Force. The spokeswoman called on the Morrison government to “face up” to the breakdown in relations with Beijing and “take constructive practical steps to help bring it back to the right track”.

The embassy said China’s ambassador to ­Australia, Cheng Jingye, who was called in by Department of ­Foreign Affairs and Trade secretary Frances Adamson on Monday, rejected the Morrison government’s “unwarranted” ­accusations as “absolutely unacceptable”.

“We would like to further stress the following: the rage and roar of some Australian politicians and media is nothing but misreading of and over-reaction to Mr Zhao’s tweet,” the spokeswoman said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian. Picture: Getty Images

“The accusations made are simply to serve two purposes. One is to deflect public attention from the horrible atrocities by certain Australian soldiers. The other is to blame China for the worsening of bilateral ties. There may be another attempt to stoke domestic nationalism.

“All of this is obviously not helpful to the resetting of bilateral relationship. It’s our advice that the Australian side face up to the crimes committed by the Australian soldiers in Afghanistan, hold those perpetrators accountable and bring justice to the victims.”

In a statement released on Tuesday morning, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was “aware of a photo showing an Australian soldier’s misconduct” and had begun investigating the case. The Afghan government said it wanted to “strengthen co-operation” with Australia and China, describing the countries as “key players in building and maintaining international and regional consensus on peace and development in Afghanistan”.

Despite calls from Mr Morrison to remove the offensive post immediately, Twitter on Tuesday said it would not ban Mr Zhao’s tweet. The social media giant said the image would be marked as “sensitive media”.

Leading the Five Eyes support for Australia, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said her government had directly raised concerns with Chinese officials.

“New Zealand has registered directly with Chinese authorities our concern over the use of that image,” Ms Ardern said. “It was an unfactual post and, of course, that would concern us.”

Amid growing concern in Washington over the deterioration in the Australia-China relationship, the White House national security council on Tuesday took aim at China over its decision to slap heavy ­tariffs on Australian wine imports, which came into effect on Saturday. “Australian wine will be ­featured at a White House ­holiday reception this week,” the council tweeted. “Pity vino lovers in China who, due to Beijing’s coercive tariffs on Aussie voters, will miss out.”

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton told parliament Australia was in the midst of the “most significant strategic realignment” since World War II.

Mr Dutton, who referenced Australia’s involvement in ­Exercise Malabar last month alongside Quad members India, the US and Japan, said the government was safeguarding the nation’s COVID-19 comeback by “ensuring the Indo-Pacific ­remains secure”.