Sinophile Geoff Raby urges Scott Morrison to repair relations

Former ambassador to China Geoff Raby says he is ‘proud’ to be listed on Australia’s foreign influence register as a director of a Chinese state-owned coal company.

Former ambassador to China Geoff Raby. Picture: Gary Ramage

Former ambassador to China Geoff Raby says he is “proud” to be listed on Australia’s foreign influence register as a director of a Chinese state-owned coal company, arguing his personal stake in the Australia-China relationship is there for all to see.

The businessman, newspaper columnist and author used an ­appearance at the National Press Club in Canberra to urge the federal government not to “shout” at China about human rights, and to remember that the country contributes about 10 per cent of Australia’s GDP.

He said Australia needed to co-operate with China rather than see it as a strategic competitor, and urged Scott Morrison and Foreign Minister Marise Payne to try to repair the damaged bilateral relationship by using more conciliatory language.

Mr Raby — an influential voice in the nation’s pro-China business community — is listed on the Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme register as working on behalf of a “foreign principal” as a Yancoal Pty Ltd non-executive director.

He also has a Beijing-based business advisory service promoting its “strong relationships with senior leaders” in the Chinese government.

Mr Raby, who is promoting his new book, China’s Grand Strategy and Australia’s Future in the New Global Order, said he made no secret of his business interests.

“I like being on the (FITS) register,” he said. “I think it’s great. I don’t know why we didn’t have such a thing a long time ago but I see that as an important element of transparency and I’m proud to be on the register.”

Mr Raby, who was Australia’s ambassador in Beijing from 2007 to 2011, said talking to China about human rights was a “perennial problem”, and it was better to maintain a “capacity to engage and talk, rather than just be shouting at each other through megaphones”.

He said Australia should “pick the issues” it wanted to raise publicly, and do so “in good company with other countries”.

“The main thing with diplomacy is not how loudly you speak, but the outcomes you get,” Mr Raby said.

As Beijing puts up new trade barriers on a raft of Australian exports — including wine, lobster, copper, sugar, timber and coal — the former diplomat said Australia would be poorer and less ­secure if its relationship with China continued to deteriorate.

“Fundamental to Australia’s security is a strong, dynamic economy,” Mr Raby said.

“Whether we like it or not, China is the fastest-growing economy in the world. No one’s going to replace China in any of our lifetimes unless it implodes.

“So I just think self-interest for the country is served by ensuring we have strong and co-operative economic relations with China.”