China Daily Global Edition (USA)
Anti-China chorus hurts relations
Australia and China should be celebrating the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations on Dec 21. However, given the anti-China chorus in Australia, the celebrations will have to be put on hold. There is much the two countries can be proud of. For instance, China has for eight consecutive years been Australia’s largest trading partner, largest export market and largest source of imports.
But there are some in Australia who seem to care little about how they have benefited from the healthy growth in ties. Over the past 11 months, some Australian politicians and media have been obsessed with only one thing, and that is criticizing China.
A quick review of the comments on China by leading Australian political figures tells us how negatively they view China, China’s political system and the prospect of its development.
In March, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said bluntly that China will not reach its full economic potential if Beijing maintains the current political system.
In June, the Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull pointed fingers at China’s South China Sea policy, even though the allegation that the commercial shipping route through the South China Sea might be threatened by China has long been proved groundless by Australian experts.
Australian media have been quick to appreciate which way the wind was blowing and bombarded the public with fabricated news about so-called Chinese influence in Australia.
In their reports, when they tried to invest in Australia’s cattle stations, Chinese companies were grabbing Australia’s strategic assets.
When they dared to challenge their teachers with China’s official opinions, Chinese students were undermining Australia’s academic independence.
And when they made donations to Australian political parties, Chinese living in Australia were interfering in Australian domestic politics, despite the fact that political donations are legal in Australia.
Australia should think about what kind of relationship it wants with China. If there is a shared will, the two countries can enjoy even greater bilateral relations over the next 45 years, but that will not be possible if Australia continues to undermine bilateral political trust and its media try to poison people-to-people relations with their biased reports. Published by: Tel: Fax: Subscription: Advertising: Printed by: — XINHUA NEWS AGENCY