True ue nature of two two- faced Australia seems ironic in it its own media
The Spectator pectator Australia publication on reported on Saturday that, “The second- to- last thing the Morrison orrison government ever wanted ed to do was embroil our country ry in a trade war with China… a… The absolute last thing the Morrison government wants to do is sell out our national ational security.”
Portraying rtraying China as a threat to Australia’s national security ity and sovereignty reveals the tricks of Australian media outlets s to put up p and knock nock down a proverbial al straw man. Actually, their real aim is t to ramp up th the “Chi China th threat” t” theory to Australia’s regional hegemony and colonial remnants. This is completely a storyline of “a thief crying stop thief.”
China has maintained close economic and political ties with many countries, with frictions with some though. This is normal in international exchanges. But few countries have made as much noise about China and their national security and sovereignty as much as Australia has.
Australia’s current mind- set is somewhat similar to that of Japan in the 1990s when China started to rise, Yu Lei, chief research fellow at the research center for Pacific island countries of Liaocheng University in
East China’s Shandong Province, told th the Gl Global b l Ti Times on W Wednesday. d d
“When China started to rise, Japan became the first to spread the ‘ China threat’ theory, and called for the enhancement of US- Japan alliance, hoping that Washington could increase its military presence in East Asia,” Yu noted.
Changes to the China- US relationship have been the most important factor that led to tensions between China and Australia, Yu continued.
Australia’s China policy is actually following in the footsteps of the US, but Canberra refuses to admit to it. In a self- deceiving way, the Morrison administration has always emphasized that, “we will always be Australia.” Besides, it took free rides on heated topics trying to make up a scenario i in which Australia sincerely wants to im improve relations with China. Howeve However, in fact, Canberra has never shown a any sincerity under Morrison’s administ administration.
Australia’s sense of superiority w was completel completely revealed in the Spec Spectator articl article titled, “T The end of the affair, China and Australia have filed for divorce,” wh which is really ridiculous. It is as if China i is the one who will lose more due du to the deterioration of China ChinaAustralia ties. With the philosophy of win- win, China ha has now become the largest tradin trading partner in the world with more than 120 countries t i and d regions. i Thi This i is th the result of market choices.
Australia is not the only one doing business with China. Many allies of Australia voiced support for Canberra while they simultaneously lined up to get a commercial contract with China. Of course, they were showing up to take away Australia’s shares in key markets in China.
Exports are directly related to the employment and welfare of Australians. From this perspective, China is a major driving force for Australia’s prosperity. The Australian government thought the Chinese market could be easily replaced. This idea has been disputed by many economists, and rightly so.
India is often considered as a potential substitute to China. Australia has set a goal of sending A$ 45 billion in annual exports to India by 2035. But last year, Australia sold more than A$ 160 billion to China alone.
Australians in the past few years have always tended to overestimate their strength. They thought they were the more powerful side with an advantageous position.
The Spectator’s article also includes an offensive cartoon in which an old lady sits at a table and watches a mouse ( representing China in the illustrator’s eyes) eating a piece of cake. She seems at a loss what to do. In the illustration, wines, steak, and lobsters on the table are covered with spider webs. Perhaps the cartoon was created in order to ridicule that China is fed by Australian goods. But it seems that the cartoon is sophisticatedly ironical to Australia itself.
Do the spider webs hint that Australia has lost its vitality, competitive edge, and attractiveness? Portraying China as a mouse indicates a distorted and ugly mentality of Australian elites. If this is the image of China in the mind of the illustrator, one might ask: What is the true nature of Australia that depends on China for prosperity?