Australia keeps door ajar for China’s BRI

The Morrison government has left the door open to working with China on Belt and Road Initiative projects in the Indo-Pacific.

Trade Minister Simon Birmingham at the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday. Picture: AAP

The Morrison government has left the door open to working with China on Belt and Road Initiative projects in the Indo-Pacific, despite condemning Victoria’s decision to sign up to Xi Jinping’s global infrastructure compact.

Trade Minister Simon Birmingham told the National Press Club that Australia would not compromise its sovereignty or ­values in its dealings with China, but was prepared to deliver projects with China in the region if it respected the sovereignty of ­recipient countries.

The federal government elected not to join the BRI in 2017, but former trade minister Steven Ciobo signed an MOU with his Chinese counterpart in 2017 — which has never been made public — foreshadowing third country BRI co-operation.

Just a day after Foreign Minister Marise Payne warned against Chinese “disinformation”, Senator Birmingham said it was possible the MOU could one day develop into a firmer commitment.

“Australia welcomes the opportunity to co-operate in other countries, in third countries, where it is in the interest of that third country, where it is valuable infrastructure investment, and where it respects the sovereignty of that third country, and is financially suitable and appropriate for that third country,” he said.

Senator Birmingham said the federal government — not the Victorian state government — was the appropriate level of government to make such decisions.

“The Australian government sets Australian foreign policy in relation to other countries and it shouldn’t be outsourced or put on a separate track by state and territory governments,” Senator Birmingham said.

Scott Morrison declared last week that the BRI was a program that Australia “doesn’t recognise”.