Canberra should show more respect for healthy relations

The surprise victory of Australia's Liberal National coalition on Saturday gives Prime Minister Scott Morrison's Liberal Party a third term in government. But apart from delivering his campaign promises to the Australian people, of which he made few, Morrison may also need to recalibrate his country's relations with China. Especially as his new government has to work out how to afford tax cuts and pay for a budget based on what are considered fanciful growth forecasts.

The relationship between China and Australia in the past few years has been one of mixed flavors. Although the fundamentals of China-Australia interaction remain strong, frictions and skirmishes keep popping up from time to time, casting shadows over bilateral ties.

While the 2015 China-Australia Free Trade Agreement laid a solid foundation for bilateral economic ties to thrive, Canberra's obstinacy in raising false alarms about China's interference in its domestic affairs and its politicians' reckless remarks about the South China Sea and China's normal cooperation with Pacific island nations have more often than not poisoned the atmosphere for bilateral cooperation.