Warning on Australia trade risks

SYDNEY－An economist with a China-focused research body has warned it would be a mistake for Australia to push for an economic "alliance" with the United States to counter its trade strains with China.

James Laurenceson, director of the Australia-China Relations Institute in Sydney, made the point in an article published on Monday in relation to the annual Australia-US Ministerial Consultations. It has been reported that the trade discord between China and Australia is on the agenda of the talks.

Laurenceson wrote that Australia's desire to discuss the issue during the meeting is readily understood. But there is good reason to question whether repurposing the security alliance to tackle economic issues and working ever more closely with the US on initiatives aimed at China represents a coherent strategy for Australia to get what it wants.

He said the US is not always a reliable partner. Australia relies on global adherence to World Trade Organization rules to protect its trade interests, but the US has impaired the role of the trade body.

That the US support for Australia hasn't gone beyond rhetoric is not surprising because that involves political or economic costs to the US.

Laurenceson said the US has designated China as a strategic competitor, but that does not automatically make China the strategic competitor of Australia.

"The more the idea of an 'economic alliance' with the US on par with its security alliance is embraced, the greater the danger of Australia getting bogged down with the US in a 'forever war' against its largest trading partner－in this case, spilling treasure rather than blood," he wrote.

Xinhua