Victoria stuck in the slow lane on Belt and Road
The Andrews government is months behind on its plan to draft and agree on a Belt and Road Initiative ‘co-operation road map’ with the Chinese government.
The Andrews government is months behind on its plan to draft and agree on a Belt and Road Initiative “co-operation road map” with the Chinese government, as newly passed federal legislation threatens to scuttle the deal altogether.
A framework agreement signed by Premier Daniel Andrews in China in October 2019, following the initial memorandum of understanding between the two jurisdictions in 2018, states that both sides will agree “to work towards having an agreed co-operation road map on key areas by first half of 2020, with a view to having the joint chairs to sign”. It further states: “Both sides agree to formulate a draft of the road map by the end of March 2020.”
However, no draft has yet been completed, with a spokesman from the Andrews government telling The Australian: “We have no update on the agreement at this time. We’re focused on keeping Victorians safe, staying open and getting people back to work as we rebuild from the pandemic.”
Amid a dramatic deterioration in Australia’s relationship with China in recent weeks, and the passage in the Senate on Tuesday of the Morrison government’s foreign relations bill, Treasurer Tim Pallas said Victoria would advocate for links between the two nations to be repaired.
“We understand that the commonwealth do have some difficulties in terms of the relationship with China, and we’re willing and able to assist them in any way that they see fit in that process,” Mr Pallas said. “We ultimately represent Victorian interests, and, of course, Australian interests. We want to see a stabilised relationship with China.
“We think it’s important for the country, and we will respect the processes that the Australian parliament have now passed, and we’ll work co-operatively with the federal government on these matters.” Asked whether he expected Victoria’s BRI agreement with China to be torn up under the new legislation, Mr Pallas said that was a “choice of the commonwealth”.
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