Beijing lashes Canberra in diplomatic row

The Chinese government has launched a full frontal attack on the Australian media, politicians and senior bureaucrats.

Chinese ambassador to Australia Cheng Jingye. Picture: AAP

The Chinese government has launched an extraordinary intervention into Australia’s politics, attacking the government, senior bureaucrats and journalists, and lashing out against a “Cold War mentality”, following Malcolm Turnbull’s crackdown on foreign interference and fuelled by resentment over the foreign white paper.

In a blunt appraisal, the Chinese embassy yesterday issued a rebuke of “so-called Chinese influence” following what it described as “unjustifiable accusations” against the communist nation.

Relations between China and Australia have soured this year following the breakdown in support for an extradition treaty, conflict over the South China Sea, opposing views on China’s Belt Road ­Initiative and pushback against Chinese influence in Australia.

“Some Australian politicians and government officials also made irresponsible remarks to the detriment of political mutual trust between China and Australia,” a Chinese embassy spokesman said. “We categorically reject those ­allegations.”

Richard Broinowski, who served as a diplomat in four East Asian nations, described the ­embassy’s statement as “unusually strong”, while La Trobe University international relations professor Nick Bisley said relations between the two countries had become difficult. “As of today, we’re clearly not in 2009 (Rio Tinto espionage case) or 1996 (Taiwan Straits crisis) territory yet, but things are trending in that direction,” Professor Bisley said. “Some careful diplomacy ­behind the scenes will be needed to manage the fallout.”

Business leaders privately told The Australian fears were growing that if ­relations continued to deteriorate, there would be pushback against Australian companies and possible retaliation via trade channels. Trade between China and Australia in 2016-17 hit $175 billion, almost three times Australia’s $66bn trade with the US.

In June, Chinese ambassador Cheng Jingye labelled Australian reports about the influence of the Chinese government in Australia as fabrications. Yesterday, an ­embassy spokesman repeated those accusations, but went further, saying the reports were racist and had “tarnished Australia’s reputation”.

“Over the recent ­period, some Australian media have repeatedly fabricated news stories about the so-called Chinese influence and infiltration in Australia,” the spokesman said.

“Those reports, which were made up out of thin air and filled with Cold War mentality and ideological bias, reflected typical anti-China hysteria and paranoia.

“The relevant reports not only made unjustifiable accusations against the Chinese government, but also unscrupulously vilified Chinese students as well as the Chinese community in Australia with racial prejudice, which in turn has tarnished Australia’s reputation as a multicultural society.”

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop insisted Australia and China maintained a respectful and constructive relationship after Mr Cheng visited Parliament House yesterday for meetings.

Bob Carr, foreign minister in the Gillard government and now head of the Australia-China Relations Institute, accused Mr Turnbull and Ms Bishop of ­departing from four decades of pragmatism by pushing Australia towards an anti-China policy.

“There is no doubt that since January there has been a distinct tilt in Australian foreign policy to an anti-Chinese stance,” said Mr Carr, who this week admitted to lobbying Chinese banks not to fund Queensland’s proposed Adani mine.

“Everyone is talking about it, businesses are talking about it … there is genuine bewilderment about Australia’s China policy.

“We are beginning to look like a shag on the rock of all the American allies … we are the one that has struck out with an anti-China position … no one else is doing it.

“From Whitlam to Abbott, surprisingly, there has been a pragmatic, national interest based China policy.”

The Coalition has launched a major attack against Labor senator Sam Dastyari over allegations he warned political donor and billionaire Yuhu Group founder Huang Xiangmo about potential Australian intelligence surveillance, accusing him of “undermining the work of our security services”.

Intelligence agencies this year warned of increasing levels of foreign interference and, in October, Department of Foreign ­Affairs and Trade secretary Frances ­Adamson warned universities to resist such pressure.

Mr Turnbull this week ­announced laws aimed at curbing foreign ­influence in Australian politics, amid growing fears over the use of cash and covert ­activities to undermine the nat­ional interest.

In its Chinese-language edition, Global Times yesterday ­attacked the Canberra measures as “reminding us of McCarthyism in the 1950s US — Australia is ­almost obsessed with antagonism against China”. It described Australia — “one of the greatest beneficiaries among Western countries of China’s rise” — as also being “one of those most actively making trouble against China, like a piece of chewing gum sticking to the sole of a Chinese shoe”.

In an editorial published this week, the state-run China Daily ­accused Mr Turnbull of “pandering” to “anti-China bias” in justifying the new laws.

“Turnbull should not have bought into this media orchestrated falsehood,” the newspaper said. “And it is wrong for him to engineer his country’s policies based on the Australian media’s bias against China. The unjustified finger-pointing at China only hurts Australia’s ties with its biggest trading partner.” China has also raised ­serious concerns about the new foreign policy white paper. ­Authors of the paper said Australia was concerned about the “unprecedented pace and scale of China’s activities” in the South China Sea.

Further, Japan, Indonesia, India and the Republic of Korea are described in the document as “Indo-Pacific partners” of “first-order importance” to Australia.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said the country was “gravely concerned” with language in the document. Professor Bisley, who recently returned from meeting Chinese commentators and academics, said he “cannot stress enough how much they hate the white paper”.