China should come to the table to discuss recent trade tensions, says Simon Birmingham

Simon Birmingham says Australia resolves differences in a ‘mature way’, as he calls on Beijing to come to the table.

Trade Minister Simon Birmingham during Question Time in the Senate chamber at Parliament House. Picture: AAP

The Morrison government is walking a diplomatic tightrope to give condemned Australian man Karm Gilespie his best chance of avoiding execution on drug changes in China, as Chinese lawyers warn his surprise death sentence is linked to the parlous state of the relationship between the two countries.

Australian officials privately say there is a slim hope the 55-year-old actor turned serial entrepreneur could mount a successful appeal against his execution, which was ordered on Friday seven years after he was arrested with 7.5 kilograms of the drug ice in his luggage at Guangzhou Baiyun Airport.

But, after months of tensions between the two countries, they warned any careless public statements by Australian government figures on Mr Gilespie’s case, or the China relationship more broadly, could condemn the Australian man.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne said on Sunday night she was “saddened and deeply concerned” at Mr Gilespie’s plight, saying Australia regarded the death penalty as “undermining shared human dignity”.

“We advocate consistently for the abolition of the death penalty worldwide, via every diplomatic avenue available to us,” she said.

“We will continue to provide Mr Gilespie with consular assistance. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones.”

Trade Minister Simon Birmingham, who expressed renewed frustration at being unable to speak to his Chinese counterpart to resolve festering tensions, said Mr Gilespie had a 10-day window to initiate an appeal, and would be assisted by Australian officials “if they can”.

Mr Gilespie, who once had a recurring role on Australian police show Blue Heelers – was arrested in December 2013, according to reports by Chinese media published on Saturday.

The amount of drugs he was caught with would, sources say, have resulted in a quick death sentence for a Chinese person.

But his arrest came three months after Tony Abbott was elected prime minister, and the two nations were negotiating a free-trade agreement.

"China has been prudent in giving sentences to foreigners out of consideration of diplomatic relations with other countries,” one lawyer in China told The Australian, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the political sensitivity of the subject.

The lawyer said the sudden announcement, seven years after the charge, indicated Mr Gilespie’s case was “tangled” in the “diplomatic disturbance” between the two countries.

"It is not a coincidence,” said the lawyer.

The move follows a death sentence handed to Canadian man Robert Schellenberg earlier this year, amid Chinese government's anger with the Canadian government over the arrest of Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Chinese telecom giant Huawei, on a U.S. extradition warrant in December 2018.

A court in the northeastern Chinese province of Liaoning had sentenced Canadian Robert Schellenberg to 15 years in November 2018, weeks before Ms Meng’s arrest, for his role in smuggling more than 200 kilograms of methamphetamine.

That sentence was elevated to the death sentence at a hastily-scheduled January retrial.

Australia’s bilateral relationship with China – already tense at the start of the year – has become even more strained after the Morrison government called for an independent inquiry into the origins of COVID-19, which was first detected spreading in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019.

China’s state controlled media has openly linked recent bans on Australian beef imports and a new 80 per cent tariff on Australian barley to the Morrison government’s push for an inquiry.

Last week, China’s government released statements warning its citizens from travelling to or studying in Australia because of "racist incidents".

Senator Birmingham lamented Sunday that China's leaders would not deal with Australia in a “mature way” to resolve issues between the countries.

“It's disappointing when other nations won't come to the table with the same open minded attitude to have that sort of dialogue,” he told Sky News. "It can be done through virtual summits, phone calls or otherwise.”

The Australian understands that at the end of 2019 more than 100 Australians were under arrest in China, most on charges of drug trafficking or fraud.

Most of the cases have never been publicised, with the writer Dr Yang Hengjun – who remains under arrest after being detained in January 2019 – a rare exception.

Less than ten of these involve cases that could end with execution.

Until China’s state media on Saturday published the one sentence statement on the death sentence by the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court, the seven year long detention of Mr Gilespie – who was born in rural Victoria – had never been made public.

The Chinese Communist Party’s top legal body, the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, which oversees the country’s highly politicised legal system, also published the one sentence statement on its website on Saturday.

The Political and Legal Affairs Commission is run by Guo Shengkun, a member of the Communist Party’s politburo, its 25 most senior figures.

Mr Shengkun – who was previously the Minister of Public Security – reports directly to General Secretary Xi.

Another lawyer in China familiar with similar cases to Mr Gilespie's told The Australian the timing of the announcement was unusual.

"What surprised me is that he was arrested seven years ago and didn't trial until now,” said the lawyer.

Additional reporting: Olivia Casiley