Australia-China relations have seen an “extraordinary turnaround” in the past year and a half, an analyst says, and not even Scott Morrison’s curiously timed trip to Taiwan could sour Anthony Albanese’s tour of Beijing.
The former Coalition government has become an example for China of how bad relations can get, while Albanese’s approach has allowed both countries to turn the page, according to UTS Australia-China Relations Institute director James Laurenceson.
It’s obvious why Australia would be interested in that result: Australia sells a third of its exports to China, and now ministers appear to have been promised an end to disruptive trade tariffs.
But why would China, whose economy is 10 times larger than Australia’s, care about the visit or the temperature of the countries’ relationship? Laurenceson told Crikey that thawing relations mean good global optics for Beijing: “I think it’s useful for China to be able to point to Australia and say, ‘Look, Beijing can actually run a very constructive, mutually beneficial relationship with a country like this.’
“Australia, of course, is a staunch US security ally, and our own relationship with China three years ago was a complete disaster. The last thing China wants is for the world to be divided into blocks where you’ve got a real hard-edged, US-led coalition that’s directed against China.”
The improvement in China-Australia relations in the past 18 months has been an “extraordinary turnaround”, he said: “Eighteen months ago, Australia’s relationship with China was worse than any other US ally or partner in the region, and now it’s probably the best.
“There are two reasons for that. One is that Beijing has come to the table and decided it’s not in its interest to keep Australia in the doghouse. The other is diplomacy. It really does matter, and the Albanese government approach to it is day and night compared with the way [Scott] Morrison was running things.”
Morrison, whose government saw relations with China plummet during arguments about the coronavirus pandemic and trade, recently went to Taiwan where he gave a speech on “a modernised One China framework”. While the timing of the trip and Morrison’s choice of words have been seen by some as inconvenient for Albanese, Laurenceson believed it wouldn’t have cast much of a shadow over the government visit.
“Not at all. I mean, of course Beijing won’t like Morrison going, but Beijing is not going to pin that on Albanese. In fact, Beijing’s favourite line over the past 18 months has been that all the problems we had with Australia were the fault of the Morrison government,” he said.
While the promised lifting of trade barriers was a concrete win for Australia, Laurenceson said there was a more intangible outcome that may be even more important: “We got the chance to press our interests directly to the people that matter in China now.”
“China’s political system is highly centralised around Xi Jinping, and Albanese met China’s number one, two and three. When you’re dealing with the Chinese bureaucracy, you never know if Xi is getting the message because no-one wants to give him bad news. Now the doors that were previously closed are going to be opened for our embassy in Beijing.”
Morrison’s last remaining occupation – full-time travelling spoiler – like a wandering turd popping up in one punchbowl after another.
Great simile !
This last week has demonstrated how irrelevant Morrison has become – to everything
BTW Scotty – how’s that book going?
Appearing with BoJo in Israel was an absolute demonstration of irrelevance.
Really well. Blank pages don’t take normal people long, although Morrison was probably the laziest person, ever.
How can you say that? The man had 5 other portfolios as well as washing hair, welding, making bread and playing footy with kids, and being PM.
Don’t forget almost cooking curries.
Yep. And hammering nails into chook-sheds in backyards, pushing giant squeegees around floors that someone else had already dried, and sitting in the driving seat of the biggest truck available wherever he was. And choosing which baseball cap to wear next. And spending so much time praying that he wore a hole in his bedside carpet. It’s a wonder the poor chap ever had time to sleep.
Total PR and associated spin failure, and the MSM lapped it up. We need policies
While Albo was in Beijing fixing the foreign affairs mess left by the Morrison government, Morrison was in the UK for a conservative loser-fest hosted by Jordan whatshisname, and then went showboating with the the Honourable Buffoon of London on a trip to Israel, achieving approximately nothing during his overseas jaunt.
… achieving approximately nothing during his overseas jaunt.
That’s a little unfair. #30 being out of Australia was a contribution to our average IQ.
Probably the last hurrah of the Dunning-Kruger subjects. I notice most of the RWNJs from the coalition were there, too.
“Achieving nothing”. Why break the habit of a lifetime?
No photo opp?
Who paid for the trip?
What a great way for China to stick it to the USA, by getting friendly with Australia.
Australia will eventually need China’s money, to pay for the USA imported Nuclear powered submarines, how ironic.
OMG – do you read the news. China and the US are in the last stages of preparing for a major summit. They just had a bilateral meeting to get both their stories straight for COP28. And while BK was swanning around the Middle Kingdom – Newsom (Califorina Gov) was doing likewise as part of the advance guard to reset the tone and clear the way for a Biden-Xi summit in a few weeks time. Also helps to position Newsom as Plan B for next year Presidential Election. The relationship with Australia was an ongoing problem that needed to be cleaned up both for China’s own economic needs, and part of a major reset by Beijing in how it’s going to approach things going forward for the next few years.
Thanks, interesting and thoughtful analysis. Didn’t hear anything about that from Riley, Speers or the mob working for media organisation run by an American family.
Yes they are wise to undo LNP’s complete hash of the relationship. I’d say the future for us is better hedged on China than the failing USA.
Airbus Morrison is no doubt flying at other peoples expense in a vain effort to regain some sort of relevance as a former PM. Tough luck son, you were hopeless in Office and are even more ineffective now.