{"id":83325,"date":"2023-11-03T13:30:54","date_gmt":"2023-11-03T02:30:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=83325"},"modified":"2023-11-03T13:22:38","modified_gmt":"2023-11-03T02:22:38","slug":"australias-opportunity-to-help-china-be-mindful-of-the-society-of-states","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australias-opportunity-to-help-china-be-mindful-of-the-society-of-states\/","title":{"rendered":"Australia\u2019s opportunity to help China be mindful of the society of states"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

At their press conference<\/a> last week, US President Joe Biden recounted to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese a conversation he\u2019d had with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Xi asked him why the US was \u2018working so hard\u2019 with Australia, to which Biden replied, \u2018We\u2019re a Pacific nation, the US. We are, and we\u2019re going to stay that way.\u2019<\/p>\n

During many trips to China, we\u2019ve had similar conversations with interlocutors who have questioned the Australia\u2013US relationship, asking why Australia doesn\u2019t \u2018choose China\u2019. Often, they\u2019re unaware of Australia\u2019s long security relationship with the US, particularly its role in Australia\u2019s defence during World War II. Moreover, mutual respect and communication often count more than economics and geographic proximity. Beijing attributes this type of misinterpretation to an \u2018information deficit\u2019.<\/p>\n

In other instances, the probing is an attempt to deploy wedge politics\u2014potentially what Xi was trying to do with Biden. In 2019, Beijing sent Chinese academics to Australia to criticise the governments of Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison, entice Australians to \u2018choose China\u2019 and denigrate the Australia\u2013US relationship. Their trip was wedge politics in action.<\/p>\n

One of those academics, Chen Hong, blamed Australia<\/a> for the freezing of Australia\u2013China relations, chastising Turnbull\u2019s decision in 2018 to ban Huawei and ZTE from Australia\u2019s 5G network. However, Turnbull\u2019s decision supported Julia Gillard\u2019s of 2012 to ban Huawei from bidding on Australia\u2019s National Broadband Network. Ignoring bipartisanship and overlooking Beijing\u2019s retaliatory actions to what were domestic matters, Chen argued that the poor state of Australia\u2013China relations was \u2018totally on the Australian side; China always promotes friendship\u2019.<\/p>\n

Another, Wang Yiwei, went further, warning Australia<\/a>: \u2018If there is a war, whether a hot or cold war, you are the first sacrifice for this war.\u2019 He called Australia \u2018naive\u2019 for trusting its alliance with the US.<\/p>\n

They also accused Australia of \u2018China bashing\u2019 and \u2018pioneering\u2019 condemnation of China at the UN over its treatment of the Uyghur population\u2014despite evidence of an unfolding crisis<\/a> in Xinjiang\u2014and signalled that to make amends with China, and have a \u2018solid deal\u2019 with Beijing, Canberra needed to sign on to the Belt and Road Initiative<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While Beijing may have seen their trip as a masterstroke, it wasn\u2019t\u2014their efforts to entice Australia to the \u2018Chinese side\u2019 and denigration of the US reeked of desperation. Soon afterwards, Beijing attempted to punish Canberra with economic sanctions and a further freezing of relations.<\/p>\n

Covid-19 gave Australia time to reflect on the challenges it and other regional states were facing due to an increasingly belligerent Beijing and escalating US\u2013China competition. Numerous countries have experienced Beijing\u2019s economic coercion, with Lithuania<\/a> the newest member of the club. However, economic coercion is not working for Beijing. Instead, these campaigns further tarnish Beijing\u2019s already damaged international reputation.<\/p>\n

Post-Covid, Xi is facing a more difficult international environment. The war in Ukraine reflects the problematic nature of China\u2019s \u2018no limits\u2019 friendship with Russia and misunderstandings over the limits of Russian power\u2014Xi is in the difficult position of trying to help Vladimir\u00a0Putin<\/a>\u00a0while at the same time acknowledging Ukrainian territorial sovereignty. Meanwhile, China\u2019s lines of credit to Iran<\/a> provided it with an economic lifeline in the face of ongoing sanctions. Given that Tehran is a critical backer of Hamas and Hezbollah, following the brutal 7 October Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel, it appears that Beijing\u2019s \u2018information deficits\u2019 on the intricacies of terrorist organisations may have contributed to this outcome.<\/p>\n

So, in his upcoming discussions with Xi, Albanese should prepare for the usual attempts at wedge politics, and the likely torrent of accusations and airing of the various grievances<\/a> China has with Australia and the US. The Albanese team should prepare for struggle-session tactics designed to rattle them: unexpected program delays, errors in the use of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations as if they don\u2019t apply to the great power, discussions that incorrectly start from the premise that Australia is to blame, and attempts to force a confession that former Australian Liberal Party leaders were responsible for Beijing\u2019s recent behaviour and that the Labor Party may take penance to be rewarded.<\/p>\n

Strategically, in response, the Albanese team should have at the ready a list of issues concerning the international political and social order\u2014or what international-relations theorist Hedley Bull called the society of states\u2014to constrain Xi\u2019s temptation to belittle and isolate its visitors. The list could be substantial: transparency and accountability for global health, hostage diplomacy, economic coercion, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the recent treatment of the Philippines, and China\u2019s relations with Timor-Leste and Solomon Islands are all valid topics to be held in reserve as possible issues that Beijing could help Australia understand.<\/p>\n

Xi knows that China and Australia need each other to develop and prosper and that when treated with respect Australia is a good friend. Speaking to the Australian Parliament in 2014<\/a>, Xi said: \u2018A harmonious and a stable domestic environment and a peaceful international environment are what China needs most \u2026 Dear friends, China has always viewed Australia as an important partner.\u2019 Hence Albanese has the responsibility to help China respect the society of states and not use wedge politics, fill in the information deficit, avoid blame politics and continue bipartisanship, and he must hold steadfast to the terms set, over recent years, for a healthy, mutually respectful and sustainable Australia\u2013China relationship. He\u2019d also be well advised to follow Biden\u2019s advice of \u2018trust, but verify\u2019 if any offers are made by Beijing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At their press conference last week, US President Joe Biden recounted to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese a conversation he\u2019d had with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Xi asked him why the US was \u2018working so …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1850,"featured_media":83328,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3192,2212,3211,294,2397,204],"class_list":["post-83325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-anthony-albanese","tag-australia-china-relations","tag-coercion","tag-diplomacy","tag-us-alliances","tag-xi-jinping"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAustralia\u2019s opportunity to help China be mindful of the society of states | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australias-opportunity-to-help-china-be-mindful-of-the-society-of-states\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Australia\u2019s opportunity to help China be mindful of the society of states | The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"At their press conference last week, US President Joe Biden recounted to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese a conversation he\u2019d had with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. 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