Sign in Home News Sport Reel Worklife Travel Future Culture More Search

Home US Election Coronavirus Video World UK Business Tech Science Stories Entertainment & Arts More

World Africa Asia Australia Europe Latin America Middle East US & Canada

How Australia-China relations have Top Stories

hit 'lowest ebb in decades' Thai PM declares emergency decree

over protests
By Shaimaa Khalil Prayuth Chan-ocha has invoked a state of
Australia correspondent
emergency decree in Bangkok to combat pro-
3 days ago democracy protests.

1 hour ago

France orders curfew in nine cities

to battle virus
3 hours ago

268 days down and 77 to go

9 hours ago

Features

GETTY IMAGES

A Chinese officer outside the Australian embassy in Beijing in July

Coronavirus: Are some soaps better
than others?

Tensions between Australia and China have recently read like the edge-of-
your-seat part of a geopolitical thriller; no-one knows exactly where the
story is going or how it's going to end.

"The Australia-China relationship is unravelling at a pace that could not have

been contemplated just six months ago," academic James Laurenceson wrote
recently.

Take the escalation in recent weeks alone. Chinese authorities confirmed that
Cheng Lei, an Australian citizen and high-profile host for China's English- Hidden camera's hugging tiger wins
language broadcaster CGTN, had been detained on suspicion of endangering top photo award
national security.

Shortly aer, the last two correspondents working for Australian media in
China were rushed home on the advice of diplomats. It played out in
mindboggling fashion.

On the eve of ABC reporter Bill Birtles' hastily planned departure from Beijing,
seven Chinese police officers arrived on his doorstep in the middle of the
night. A similar visit was paid to the Australian Financial Review's Michael
Smith in Shanghai.
Shattering Koreaʼs cement ceiling

Boy sleeps in tent for months in

memory of friends

GETTY IMAGES/REUTERS

(L-R) Cheng Lei remains detained in China while Bill Birtles and Mike Smith were rushed home Dramatic footage shows flood
destruction in India

Each took refuge in Australian diplomatic missions but were prevented from
leaving China until they were questioned over vague "national security"
matters. Mr Birtles said he felt like a "pawn in a diplomatic tussle".

The day aer the pair arrived home, Chinese state media reported that
Australian intelligence agents had questioned several Chinese journalists in
June and seized their devices "in violation of legitimate rights".

Australian media reported that incident was linked to an investigation by

intelligence officials and police into alleged foreign interference. It followed
World reacts to long queues of
raids in June on the offices of New South Wales state MP Shaoquett
voters in US
Moselmane, a staunch supporter of Beijing who later said he was not
personally under investigation.

Most recently, two Australian academics were banned from entering China - a
move one argued had been in retaliation to Canberra revoking the visas of two
Chinese scholars.

At any other time, one of these incidents could be enough to sustain headlines
for some time - but these happened in rapid succession.

How to spot US election

disinformation

Google robots will roam fields

inspecting crops

Bill Birtles: "It was a whirlwind week"

The breakneck speed has had even close watchers scratching their heads. 'Wake up, you've won a Nobel Prize'

The back story Most Read

Anger and mistrust between the countries has been bubbling under the
Covid: Trump's son Barron
surface for years.
had coronavirus, says first 1
A turning point happened in 2017 aer the Australian Security Intelligence lady
Organisation (Asio) warned of growing Chinese attempts to influence
decision-making in Canberra. Donations from Chinese businessmen to local Central Park: Amy Cooper
politicians also came to light. 'made second racist call' 2
against birdwatcher
Late in the year, Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull announced laws designed
to curb foreign interference. Beijing responded by freezing diplomatic visits. Thai protests: Large
gatherings banned under 3
In 2018, Australia became the first country to publicly ban the Chinese tech
emergency decree
giant Huawei from being involved in its 5G network, citing national security
reasons. There have been numerous other flashpoints since.
Coronavirus: France to
Through all the turmoil, however, Australia's trade relationship with its biggest impose night-time curfew to 4
customer largely flourished. battle second wave

China may have been furious with Australia, but its ever-growing economy US election 2020: Why it
remained hungry for Australian natural resources. So, the iron ore, coal and 5
matters so much to Germans
liquified natural gas continued to flow to China, and Chinese tourists and
students and a huge export income continued to flow to Australia. Nagorno-Karabakh conflict:
Armenian PM admits 6
significant casualties

More on Australia and China: Amy Coney Barrett: Trump

US Supreme Court pick
7
How reliant is Australia on their top customer?
grilled on presidential
powers
Why China's rise exposes Australian vulnerabilities
Coronavirus: Ireland to bring
'I feel censored by Chinese students' 8
in ban on household visits

Hidden camera's hugging

tiger wins wildlife photo 9
award

Two priests accused in

Vatican's first sexual abuse 10
trial

Australia and China are big trading partners but have disagreed on a number of important political issues

Though many economic benefits continue, things have changed dramatically

in 2020.

"Politically we're at the lowest ebb since diplomatic relations were established
in 1972," said Professor Laurenceson, director of the Australia-China Relations
Institute at the University of Technology Sydney.

The real trigger this year has been Australia calling for an investigation into
the origins of Covid-19, which was first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison suggested that the World Health Organization
needed tough new "weapons inspector" powers.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton cited US State Department comments

that "documentation" existed showing how the virus had spread - but noted he
had not seen them. Chinese diplomats responded with highly undiplomatic
language, saying Mr Dutton must have been told to work "with the US in its
propaganda war".

Professor Laurenceson told the BBC that Beijing's anger was directed not just
at the political rhetoric but at Australia's stance on the global balance of
power.

"China is seeing that Australia is making its choice to line up with America in a
geopolitical competition," he said.

In late April, China's ambassador to Canberra, Cheng Jingye, threatened that

Chinese people could boycott Australian products.

"If the mood is going from bad to worse… Maybe the ordinary people will say
'why should we drink Australian wine? Eat Australian beef?'" he told the
Australian Financial Review.

Not long aer, China slapped an 80.5% tariff on Australian barley, suspended
some Australian beef imports and launched an anti-dumping probe into
Australian wine imports.

GETTY IMAGES

Asia-Pacific allies known as "The Quad": India, Japan, Australia and the US meet last week in Tokyo

Beijing also cautioned students and tourists against going to Australia, citing
racist incidents in light of Covid-19.

Australian sentiments towards Beijing have also soured in public opinion. This
is especially evident in what many see as China's attempts at arm-twisting with
sanctions against sectors of Australia's economy.

"Those bullying tactics have hardened attitudes in Australia," said Natasha

Kassam, a research fellow at the Lowy Institute think tank. It conducted a poll
this year which found only 23% of Australians trusted China to act responsibly
in the world.

Ms Kassam added that every time China attempted to "bully" Australia, the
voices demanding a more assertive policy towards Beijing grew louder.

Mr Morrison has used tough language at times, insisting that Australia will not
"trade away" its values or respond to coercion.

His government has openly criticised the new security law imposed by China
on Hong Kong, and offered safe haven to many Hong Kong students and
graduates already in Australia. It has also suspended its extradition agreement
with Hong Kong.

Beijing's fury with Canberra's latest stances - especially the US alignment - is

not surprising, but the speed and severity of the anger has taken even the
experts aback.

"I am surprised to the extent that for three years we had a firewall between the
political side of the relationship and the economic one," Professor
Laurenceson said. "Now in the spate of five months we have China taking or
mooting action against barley, beef, students, tourists, and wine."

GETTY IMAGES

Though Australia's borders remain closed, Beijing has issued additional travel warnings

"What adds to the nervousness at the moment is that it's not clear where the
bottom is."

Ms Kassam said it was increasingly clear that the acrimony was "structural"
and could not be "fixed by better diplomacy".

"It was never going to be possible in this globalised world where China is a big
rising power," she said, noting Australia's US alliance.

The two sides know that with high tensions come even higher stakes. Last
week, one of China's top diplomats called for an end to "confrontation and
abusive language" between Australia and China.

Fu Ying, China's former ambassador to Australia and an influential figure in

Beijing, called for better communication because the two trading partners
needed each other.

The significance of that particular statement was not just in what she said, but
who she said it to: Michael Smith of the Australian Financial Review, one of the
two journalists who had been hurried out of China.

Even amid the tensions and the pandemic-led global recession, the countries
have traded at a consistent pace.

"The economic side of the relationship remains a strength," said Professor

Laurenceson. He expected it to co-exist with the political relationship "in an
uneasy way going forward".

"You will not find two countries that have more complementary production
structures than Australia and China. Simply put - China wants what Australia
produces and they want it deeply."

GETTY IMAGES

China is running two investigations into Australian wine exports

This remains a complicated balancing act for both countries.

For Ms Kassam, separating trade from political tensions is a myth which has
been dispelled as both sides ratchet up their rhetoric.

"For 10 years [or so]… Australia and China were able to maintain the fiction
that their economies' co-dependency could exist in a separate sphere to their
political tensions. It was in both sides interest to maintain that fiction for that
period."

She added it was hard to see stability returning soon and that, in future, the
relationship would be defined by tension and political conflict.

"I worry about that a lot," Ms Kassam said. "I worry about Australian people in
China and whether they could potentially be targeted in the declining bilateral
relationship."

Related Topics

Australia China Australia-China relations

More on this story

Cheng Lei: China says journalist 'endangered national security'

8 September

Chinese state media accuse Australia of raiding journalists' homes

9 September

Australian journalists flown out of China 'amid diplomatic standoff'

8 September

China launches second Australian wine probe amid tensions

31 August

Australia to tighten rules on states' and universities' foreign deals

26 August

BBC News Services

On your mobile On smart speakers Get news alerts Contact BBC News

Home Sport Worklife Future Music Weather

News Reel Travel Culture TV Sounds

Terms of Use About the BBC Privacy Policy Cookies Accessibility Help Parental Guidance Contact the BBC Get Personalised Newsletters Why you can trust the BBC

Advertise with us AdChoices / Do Not Sell My Info

© 2020 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.