China’s ally in the West
McGowan attacks Prime Minister for his critical comments on Beijing
WESTERN Australian Premier Mark McGowan, who was once praised by Chinese propaganda outlet The Global Times for being a “sensible voice” on Beijing-Australian relations, has slammed Prime Minister Scott Morrison for his tough stance on China.
Mr McGowan made the remarks to Perth radio station 6PR on Wednesday, saying that he didn’t “understand” the Prime Minister’s approach to
the Chinese regime, just hours before Scott Morrison was to deliver a speech calling for more information about the start of the pandemic and saying that liberal democracies had to work together to counter the threat posed by Beijing’s coercion.
“I don’t understand it, why he would be doing that,” McGowan (pictured) said.
“We have a massive trade surplus with China which basically generates hundreds of thousands of jobs for West Australians and we are the beneficiaries of that.
“”Last year we sold $100bn worth of products to China, we bought $4bn back, so we have a $96bn trade surplus.
“You don’t support the nation unless you have customers and our biggest customer is China so I just think our language should be very nuanced.”
While China has faced global criticism for its human rights abuses of its ethnic minority Uighur populations, crushing of democracy in Hong Kong, expansionism in the South China Sea, threats to Taiwan, and lack of transparency about the origins of the coronavirus, Mr McGowan has routinely urged the Morrison government to soften its rhetoric lest it cost jobs.
Mr McGowan’s comments came ahead of a speech by Mr Morrison to the Perth USAsia Centre, where he was expected to say an overhaul of global trade rules was essential to stopping economic coercion.
Saying that the global rulesbased order is “under strain”, Mr Morrison was expected to say that “the most practical way to address economic coercion is the restoration of the global trading body’s binding dispute settlement system”.
“Where there are no consequences for coercive behaviour, there is little incentive for restraint,” a draft of his speech says. Beijing has imposed economic sanctions on Australian products in recent months. Many believe the measures are punishment for pushing back against Chinese influence operations in Australia, rejecting Chinese investment in sensitive areas and calling for a Covid-19 investigation.