Former Beijing diplomat sees no change while Xi Jinping reigns

A former diplomat in Beijing says the Australia-China relationship is unlikely to improve while Xi Jinping remains in power.

Chinese President Xi Jinping. Picture: AP

Australia’s top political affairs diplomat in Beijing during the Tiananmen Square massacre says the Australia-China relationship is unlikely to improve while Xi Jinping remains in power, but Australia should work hard to ensure it doesn’t get worse.

Days after the Chinese government warned students and tourists not to come to Australia, Richard Rigby urged the federal government to “speak with one voice” on China to avoid inflaming the relationship further.

Professor Rigby, who first went to China in 1972 and was on the ground in Beijing in 1989 when the tanks rolled in, said despite massive changes in the country the rule of the party was “fundamentally non-negotiable”.

He said President Xi was unlikely to go quietly into retirement, because of the enemies he had accumulated in corruption purges, ensuring China’s approach to the West – and Australia – was effectively set.

“If China continues under its present leadership, with its present policies, it is hard to see any radical improvement that can take place,” Professor Rigby said.

He said Australia was not about to get “all warm and cuddly” with the Chinese government, and should clearly signal its bottom lines in the relationship.

But it should also take care not to provoke its biggest trading partner.

“The challenge for us is to do what we can to ensure the relationship does not further deteriorate while not undermining any of our principles and interests,” Professor Rigby told The Australian.

“We do that by being careful about what we say publicly. It doesn’t mean going soft, but avoiding unnecessarily inflaming the situation.

“It also means speaking with one voice. That means preferably, if you don’t have to speak about China, don’t speak about China. Leave it to the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister, and not have other people sounding off.”

His comments follow a meeting in the last parliamentary sitting week between Scott Morrison and government backbenchers who have taken a strong position on Chinese foreign interference.

The Prime Minister asked the backbenchers – members of a bipartisan grouping known as “The Wolveries” – to tread carefully in their public comments as the government sought to build global consensus for an independent inquiry into the coronavirus.

The group consults with the Prime Minister’s Office before making public statements, but there are other Coalition MPs, including former minister the pacific Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, who launch anti-China attacks without prior warning.

Senator Fierravanti-Wells crossed the floor on Wednesday to vote for a motion put forward by Centre Alliance Senator Rex Patrick to have an inquiry into Australia’s relationship with China. The motion failed when neither of the major parties backed it.

Mr Morrison declared Australia would always act in its national interests, and would never “trade our values in response to coercion from wherever it comes”.

He said he had “noted” reports in China warning students and tourists of racist attacks in Australia.

“But equally, what I know is Australia provides the best education and tourism products in the world. And I know that that is compelling,” the Prime Minister told 2GB.

NAB warned on Thursday that China’s alert against travel to Australia could affect economic growth if it persisted once borders reopened.

NAB’s director of economics & markets, Tapas Strickland said Chinese tourism could be heavily influenced by Chinese government policy, but noted the alert was just a warning.

“A key issue for Australia going forward will be navigating the Australia-China relationship in an era of heightened geopolitical tensions,” he said.

“Importantly, current tensions have not impacted Australia’s largest export to China, iron ore which comprises around 50 per cent of all Australian trade with China.”