Australia must take steps to reset ties

Canberra should adopt right approach toward Beijing

China-Australia relations plunged to a historical low during the previous government of prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, and incumbent Prime Minister Scott Morrison may not strive a lot to improve bilateral ties.

Hostility toward China has become an integral part of Australian politics because of ideological differences. Many Australian politicians have found that blaming China for their country's ills and labeling it a national security risk are very cost-effective methods of shifting public attention from domestic economic problems to other issues. The ban on Huawei from entering Australian 5G market is an apt example of Canberra's bias toward Beijing.

The Australian government has a dual policy toward China: cooperation with China in trade but vigilance against China on defense and security issues. And as long as the Liberal Party is still the leading party in Australia, Morrison is unlikely to change that policy much as it serves the purpose of conservative ruling party well. As the minister for immigration and border protection, Morrison proposed strict immigration policies and prevented the $10 billion sale of New South Wales electricity network company Ausgrid, to two bidders－a State-owned enterprise from the Chinese mainland and a listed company from Hong Kong.

And thanks to the US-Australia alliance, Canberra is partial to Washington's stance, so it may not make much effort to improve relations with China, especially at a time when the China-US trade conflict is yet to be resolved.

However, the China-Australia free trade agreement entered into force in 2015, which means Australia should oppose Trump's protectionist policies. As such, Australia will see to it that its ties with China do not worsen further.

But that would not be enough. Since Canberra created the misunderstandings in China-Australia relations, it should take concrete actions to truly reset bilateral ties. In other words, instead of trying to counterbalance its reliance on China's market for economic prosperity with its unfriendly stance on China on security issues, it should adopt a unified approach toward China and take concrete steps to improve bilateral ties.

Liu Qing, head of Asia-Pacific studies at the China Institute of International Studies