Coronavirus: Daniel Andrews spruiks BRI as Beijing attacks critics for ‘distortions’

Premier Daniel Andrews has defended Victoria’s relationship with China, saying it had delivered jobs and investment.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews. Picture: AAP

China’s Melbourne consulate has accused critics of Victoria’s Belt and Road agreement of making “distorted interpretations” and “unwarranted attacks”.

News of the consulate’s statement came after Premier Daniel Andrews defended Victoria’s relationship with China, saying it had delivered jobs and investment.

In a strongly worded statement initially published only in Chinese on its website on May 25, the consulate labelled negative remarks over the memorandum of understanding between the Chinese and Victorian governments as “deliberately discrediting for political purposes”.

“The negative remarks against the Belt and Road Initiative … are obviously distorted interpre­tations, unwarranted attacks, and deliberately discredit for political purposes,” the statement said.

“They do not really care about the benefits of Belt and Road co-operation brought to the people of both sides.

“The two sides signed a framework agreement to jointly promote the Belt and Road construction, which will bring greater opportunities to Victoria, open up new horizons for the expansion of co-operation between China and Victoria in various fields, and bring tangible benefits to the people of both sides.”

Mr Andrews broke ranks with the federal government in Oct­ober 2018 when Victoria became­ the only Australian jurisdiction to sign an MOU with Beijing on the controversial BRI on trade and investment­ — a scheme seen by Canberra as a vehicle for Chinese regional and global expansion.

Adding to the state government’s headache, the Victorian chapter of the Vietnamese Community in Australia and the Vietnamese Veterans Association of Victoria came out swinging against the BRI agreement.

VVAV president Ding Nguyen said Vietnamese Australians who fled the communist regimen as ­refugees were acutely aware of the dangers posed by China.

“We must stop any form of infiltration by the Chinese communist regime and protect Australian values for us and our children,” he said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Mr ­Andrews defended the state’s relationship with China, saying any cooling of the partnership would cost jobs.

He said that over the past five years, exports to China had increased by 62 per cent, with the number of Chinese tourists visiting Victoria up 70 per cent over the same period, while the number of students from China had increased by 50 per cent.

“I’m not quite sure what people are suggesting,” he said.

“(Would they) rather we have a good relationship with China or we have a bad one, or we send less product to China, rather than more?”

Mr Andrews’s comments come amid tensions between the federal government and China, which has slapped an 80 per cent tariff on Australian barley exports and ­suspended exports from four ­abattoirs.

These actions followed Scott Morrison’s call for an inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr Andrews referred questions on the Chinese barley tariff and beef ban to the federal government, saying any relationship should be mutually beneficial.

“I’d like to think that just as over the last five years we have seen a massive increase in the amount of product we’re sending to China and other countries, not just China, we’ve seen exports grow across the board,” he said. “I’d like to think the next five years could be equally prosperous.”