Editor’s view: Reality of China’s regime on display during Premier’s visit

Despite all the necessary diplomatic niceties during Chinese Premier Li Qiang’s official visit to Canberra, the reality of the brutal regime he represents was still on display, writes the editor.

Despite all the necessary diplomatic niceties during Chinese Premier Li Qiang’s official visit to Canberra yesterday, the fake curtain can only obscure so much – and the reality of the brutal regime he represents was still on display in the way Australian journalist Cheng Lei was treated.

In a reminder for us to cherish the freedoms we have, despite the petty political differences that far too often dominate our discourse, Chinese officials tried to block Ms Cheng from view during a press conference inside Australia’s home of democracy, Parliament House.

Ms Cheng came to Australia as a 10 year-old in 1985, becoming a citizen in 2003. She was back in China working as a television news anchor when she was detained in 2020. The Australian government was not told the details of the charges against her. It was three years before she was released.

Cheng Lei attends a press conference by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: Martin Ollman

The government of China has a proven reputation of extreme sensitivity to perceived slights and potential embarrassments – a point confirmed yet again yesterday with the ham-fisted efforts by Chinese media officers to stop cameras at the press event for Mr Li and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese filming Ms Cheng. There were awkward scenes as the Chinese officials tried several times to block her from view – forcing two Australian officials to, in Ms Cheng’s words, “courteously” and “firmly” stand between her and the Chinese officials.

Good on those two Australians. They modelled exactly how Prime Minister Albanese needed to also approach his dealings with Mr Li, the first Chinese premier to visit Australia in seven years: courteous but firm diplomacy.

It is, of course, important that Australia aims for the best possible trade and diplomatic settings with China – which is Queensland’s, and Australia’s, biggest trading partner.

But that does not mean we need to ever compromise Australian principles – or pull punches simply to protect our trading interests.

Cheng Lei at Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s press conference at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: Martin Ollman

Recent history has, in any event, shown that Chinese efforts to punish Australia for perceived slights by imposing export bans have largely failed – particularly here in Queensland.

There was understandable concern in 2020 when China banned coal and beef, in apparent response to the Morrison government’s support of an international inquiry into whether China was to blame for Covid.

On the face of it, things looked bad at the time. China, in the space of barely a decade, had become by far and away Queensland’s most important export market.

In 2010 we sold China $6.5bn worth of goods – 13 per cent of our total manufactured exports.

By 2019, China accounted for more than a third of our overseas sales – around $29bn worth of mainly coal, LNG and beef.

This could and should have been disastrous for Queensland, especially given the bans came at the same time as Covid travel restrictions had cut off the flow of international tourists and students, many of them from China.

But the facts show we not only survived but also made ourselves more resilient by finding new markets for the things China suddenly decided it did not want.

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese shakes hands with China's Premier Li Qiang during a signing ceremony at Parliament House in Canberra. Photo: Lukas Coch

China has since removed most of its export restrictions and its imports from Queensland have gradually recovered to close to pre-ban, pre-Covid levels – to about $25bn a year currently.

Chinese students and tourists have also started returning.

But significantly, Queensland is no longer as dependent on China as it used to be. China now only accounts for about 22 per cent of our exports – compared with the pre-ban level 33 per cent or so.

Nationally, Australian exports to China have also climbed past pre-Covid and pre-export ban levels.

The simple and underlying fact is that Australia sells what China needs – from the best iron ore and coal and beef and lobsters and wine, to education and tourism.

No Australian should therefore ever kowtow to China, whether it’s on trade or democratic principles. We are far stronger than that.

Originally published as Editor’s view: Reality of China’s regime on display during Premier’s visit