China never forgot Gough Whitlam, and they will always remember Scott Morrison

Gough Whitlam, left, Deng Xiaoping and Margaret Whitlam in China in 1973.

Australia has had a special relationship with China ever since Labor’s Gough Whitlam made his pilgrimage to the country in 1971 and 1973.

Before Whitlam established diplomatic relations in 1972 it was only ever referred to as “Communist China”. Mao Zedong had closed its borders but the enlightened and courageous Zhou Enlai was doing his best to open up the country.

China was a pariah nation then and Whitlam’s visit put Australia in the forefront of international efforts to bring the country in from the cold. The Chinese have long memories, so Whitlam’s move was never forgotten.

Neither will Scott Morrison’s.

China’s pride has been dented after our Prime Minister slammed Beijing’s “repugnant” fake image of an Australian soldier slitting the throat of an Afghan child. But the problem is largely self-inflicted.

Scott Morrison at The Lodge in Canberra this week. Picture: Adam Taylor

China’s stubborn refusal to admit or apologise for COVID-19’s origins in Wuhan makes them look foolish in the eyes of the world. But the Chinese care little about their international reputation. They are too big to be ignored in discussions about power or the world economy.

Australia needs the Chinese to continue building new cities and new roads — so there is a market for our coal in supplying electricity to the masses.

Cities the size of Sydney are dotted right through China. One city, Shanghai, has a larger population than Australia.

But totalitarian regimes never admit failure. Even if the failure is caused by accident, they will still duck, deny and dissemble.

The old saying “discretion is the better part of valour” seems to apply well here.