China ‘a thug and shocking bully’, says former Australian envoy Mark Higgie

A former Australian ambassador to the EU has warned Britain not to concentrate on trade deals with China because the country is ‘a thug and a shocking bully’.

Mark Higgie with former PM Tony Abbott’s chief of staff Peta Credlin in 2013. Picture: Ray Strange

Mark Higgie, a former Australian ambassador to the European Union and one-time adviser to former prime minister Tony Abbott, has warned Britain not to concentrate on trade deals with China because the country is “a thug and a shocking bully” and blatantly uses trade “in an overtly political way”.

In a blunt assessment of Australia’s deteriorating trading woes with its biggest trading partner, Mr Higgie told the London Telegraph’s podcast Planet Normal that Boris Johnson’s government should exercise “extreme caution” in its future trading deals with China because of the way the country was treating Australia.

He said the imbroglio was China’s response to Australia’s call for a global inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus.

He said: “I would have to urge extreme caution, I mean we’ve got ourselves in a situation now where China is our most important export market and China is behaving like a shocking bully and has decided to, I think, make an example of Australia because we had the temerity to call for a global inquiry into the origin of the Covid pandemic. And they were furious with that. Now, sector by sector, they’re finding reasons not to import our stuff.”

Mr Higgie said Britain should learn from what was happening with Australia and ensure British-China trade was of a “manageable proportion”.

‘’For God’s sake don’t put too many eggs in the China basket as I am afraid we probably have,’’ he said, before adding “We have a very large proportion of our trade that has gone to China and Britain should make sure that it’s a manageable proportion because China is a thug and a bully and blatantly uses our trade in overtly political way.’’

Mr Higgie was Australia’s ambassador to the EU between 2014 and 2017, during which time British dissatisfaction with being a member of the EU reached its zenith, and the Brexit referendum was held, resulting in the UK’s departure.

Mr Higgie said the EU is making unacceptable demands to punish Britain for leaving their “club” and that they were being “obtuse” about Britain’s desire for sovereignty.

“Basically, [the EU position is] remain in its orbit and, by the way, give us 80 per cent of your fish,” Mr Higgie said.

“This saga has gone on for so many years and you’d think that the Brussels establishment would understand Britain’s desire to re-establish sovereignty, but they just don’t get it. They really are obtuse.”