Beijing says Australia is ‘playing with fire’ over Taiwan visit

Beijing has warned a bipartisan visit to Taiwan by a group of Australian politicians will undermine efforts to repair Australia-China ties.

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meets China's President Xi Jinping in a bilateral meeting during the 2022 G20 summit.

Beijing has warned a bipartisan visit to Taiwan by a group of Australian politicians will undermine efforts to repair Australia-China ties, accusing the delegation of spreading “plague and pestilence” and declaring Australia is “playing with fire”.

Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece the Global Times lashed Anthony Albanese’s failure to oppose the visit, which includes two Labor backbenchers, accusing him of playing “a game of words” in playing down the trip.

The group includes former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce, two Labor members of the Albanese government, Meryl Swanson and Libby Coker, Liberal National Party members Scott Buchholz and Terry Young, and Liberal Gavin Pearce.

Their trip is the first by an Australian delegation since 2019, and follows the Prime Minister’s breakthrough meeting with Xi Jinping in Bali last month, where the two leaders committed to stabilising the Australia-China relationship.

Demonstrators take part in a protest against Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan in August. Pelosi arrived in Taiwan as part of a tour of Asia aimed at reassuring allies in the region.

In a strident editorial, the paper warned the visit would “cast a shadow on the China-Australia relationship that has seen some positive momentum just ­recently”.

“Those who play with fire will perish by it,” the editorial said.

“The politicians from certain countries who visit Taiwan to seek limelight are like political god (sic) of plague and pestilence.

“They bring nothing but risks and tension to Taiwan and no benefit to their own countries, and they also hijack their own countries’ China policy.

“As the Australian MPs’ ­Taiwan visit is under way, it has ­already generated negative impacts on the China-Australia relationship.”

The delegation arrived in Taiwan on Monday, meeting Agriculture Minister Chi Chung Chen for talks that were expected to cover Taipei’s bid to join one of the world’s biggest trading blocs – the Comprehensive and Progressive Agree­ment for trans-­Pacific Partnership.

The trip comes amid intensive lobbying by Taiwan for Australia to back its bid to join the CPTPP.

The Australian MPs are travelling with support from Taiwan’s foreign ministry. Their itinerary includes meetings with President Tsai Ing-wen and Foreign Minister Joseph Wu.

They will also visit Taiwan’s world-leading semiconductor industry – a crucial part of the international economy.

The trip follows the visit by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan in August, which prompted live-fire drills by the People’s Liberation Army Navy around the territory, including the firing of 11 Chinese missiles, nine of which landed Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

Mr Albanese batted away questions on the trip on Saturday, saying such visits had been going on for some time.

“This isn’t a government visit. There remains a bipartisan position when it comes to China and when it comes to support for the status quo on Taiwan,” he said.

Asked what the purpose of the trip was, Mr Albanese replied: “I have no idea. I’m not going. You should ask them.”

Mr Joyce told Sky News there was nothing out of the ordinary about the visit.

“We’ve had numerous delegations to Taiwan. I’ve been on one in the past myself, so it’s my second time to Taiwan,” he said.

“We have a strong economic reason to be close to the island of Taiwan and we want to make sure that we maintain that connection. It is bipartisan.”

Australia has had only un­official relations with the liberal democracy of 23 million people since Canberra switched recognition to the People’s Republic of China 50 years ago.

Mr Albanese and at least three other members of his cabinet visited Taiwan during 2018 and 2019, including Don Farrell, Michelle Rowland and Brendan O’Connor.