China drops Australia in Sino the times
BEIJING has severed one of the last remaining channels for high-level bilateral talks with Canberra after Victoria’s controversial Belt and Road agreement was torn up.
A Chinese government spokesman on Thursday announced Beijing’s part in the China-Australia Strategic Economic Dialogue was “indefinitely suspended”.
While the latest blow to bilateral relations is largely symbolic, with the most recent forum taking place four years ago, it closes off one of the last official avenues for diplomacy between the nations.
Federal Trade Minister Dan Tehan labelled the move “disappointing”.
“We remain open to holding the dialogue and engaging at the ministerial level,” Mr Tehan said.
The move comes after the Morrison government cancelled Victoria’s Belt and Road agreement last month.
In a statement, China’s National Development and Reform Commission said it had based the decision “on the current attitude of the Australian commonwealth government toward China-Australia co-operation”.
The commission added: “Recently, some Australian commonwealth government officials launched a series of measures to disrupt the normal exchanges and co-operation between China and Australia out of Cold War mindset and ideological discrimination.”
Earlier on Thursday, Scott Morrison said that he wanted China and Australia to work together with other nations for a “free and open IndoPacific”.