Scott Morrison made things worse with his reaction, says China

China says there is widespread awareness of alleged war crimes by Australian special forces soldiers in Afghanistan because of Scott Morrison’s furious response to a provocative tweet.

\China's Deputy Head of Mission, Minister Wang Xining. Picture: Getty Images

China says there is widespread awareness of alleged war crimes by Australian special forces soldiers in Afghanistan because of Scott Morrison’s furious response to a provocative tweet and claims there must be “concrete actions” from the government to get the relationship back on track.

Beijing’s deputy ambassador in Canberra, Wang Xining, also claimed the silence for more than a year from his government to the Prime Minister and some of his cabinet ministers was “normal international diplomatic practice” because high-level meetings took time to prepare.

It came as Foreign Minister Marise Payne warned it was unhelpful to view developments in our region solely through US-China “strategic competition”, declaring Australia “won’t be a bystander” as it helps the Pacific recover from COVID-19.

Senator Payne’s comments came a day after a major Canberra dinner she was due to attend, tied to international cyber policy, was mysteriously cancelled hours ­before guests were due to arrive.

The Weekend Australian understan­ds distinguished guests at the DFAT-organised dinner were to include the heads of the ­nation’s­ security agencies. Some guests even turned up, not knowing it had been cancelled.

Senator Payne’s office told The Weekend Australian the dinner­ had been cancelled for logis­tical reasons, but did not answer­ questions on when the decision to cancel the cyber-related event was made or which guests were told about the decision.

China revealed on Friday that it may extend its tariffs of up to 212 per cent on Australian wine by nine months, despite the tough measures only being due to last four months from November 28.

In a keynote address at the Departmen­t of Foreign Affairs­ and Trade, attended by Mr Wang and US ambassador Arthur Culvahouse Jr, Senator Payne sought to assert Australia as one of many regional powers with “genuine agency and influence”.

After a week in which the Australia-China relationship plunged to a 50-year low, following a tweet by a Chinese government official of a fake image depicting an Australian soldier slitting the throat of an Afghan child, she said: “Sometimes the commentary in the media and even the foreign policy community suggests that strat­egic competition, the United States, China, are the whole story but they’re not.

“Indo-Pacific nations beyond those have considerable weight … Together these countries generated more than 20 per cent of ­global GDP last year.

“None of us is a bystander and Australia certainly won’t be. We have a positive vision for our ­region and we’re taking action to realise it.”

Foreign Minister Marise Payne. Picture: Sean Davey

Acknowledging work by Rory Medcalf, head of the Australian National University’s National Security College, Senator Payne said Australia, India, Japan and Indonesia were projected to have a combined population of more than two billion people by 2050 — 50 per cent larger than China and 4 ½ times larger than the US.

Mr Wang said the Brereton report­, which detailed the alleged unlawful killings of 39 unarmed Afghans by a small group of specia­l forces soldiers, had got much more attention in China after Mr Morrison and Aus­tralian politicians condemned the tweet.

“It is unfortunate that this issue evolved in such a way that has gone astray and now there is much larger visibility of the Brereton report in China,’’ he told the ABC. “More people are attentive to what has happened in Afghan­istan. Also, people wonder why a national leader would have such a strong opinion to an artwork done by a normal, young artist in China”.

The image was reportedly lifted from social media by a Chinese nationalist artist.

Thirteen months after Mr Morrison last met Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Trade Minister Simon Birmingham met his Chinese counterpart Zhong Shan, Mr Wang insisted it took “preparation” to organise such meetings.

Senator Payne last met her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in January.

Australia has tried on multiple occasions to restart dialogue with China’s leadership.

“The meetings between the ministers and even the higher level must be prepared, it’s normal international diplomatic practice,” Mr Wang said.

“We still hope to see concrete actions done by the Australian side to promote a favourable atmosphere for stronger collaboration and bring our relationship back to normal that will help both countries.”

There is mounting speculation in Chinese media that Mr Zhong could be replaced within weeks by Wang Wentao, giving Senator Birmingham a new counterpart to try and talk to.

As Australia seeks support from the US to overhaul the World Trade Organisation, Senator Payne sent a veiled message to China by conceding rules and norms were “not necessarily static” but their reforms should be pursued “through negotiation, not the exercise of power”.

“Australia will be true to our values and respectful of the fundamental rules and norms that have stood the test of time,” Senator Payne said.

Additional reporting: Richard Ferguson, Heidi Han