Australian govt needs to be pragmatic toward China

With Australia's 2019 federal election set to start later this month, speculation about Chinese meddling in its domestic politics surfaced again recently. While the new round of hype over Chinese interference within Australia may seem more like a political necessity in the run-up to the election, such skepticism only reaffirms the rise in China's influence that Australia cannot get rid of.

It has not been uncommon to see Australia accuse China of influencing its internal affairs through donations and lobbying over the years. The Australian government even passed foreign interference laws last year, which analysts said are aimed specifically at China.

In August 2018, Australia announced a ban on Chinese telecommunication equipment supplier Huawei Technologies Co from participating in its 5G network building. So far, Australia is another Five Eyes intelligence alliance member, aside from the US, that has taken a hardline stance against Huawei. In response, China complained at a WTO meeting last month that Australia's restriction on Huawei's 5G technology was "obviously discriminative" and appeared to break global trade rules, Reuters reported.

For a long time, the Australian government had managed to maintain a balance between its largest trading partner, China, and its greatest ally, the US. But things have changed since a series of distorted reports by Australian media and remarks made by Australian politicians on alleged interference in its domestic affairs. To a certain extent, Australia's targeting of China and Chinese companies indicates its eagerness to contain the rise in China's influence, which indeed has been expanding, along with its economy.

While its allies are strategically important, it still seems unwise for Australia to casually dampen its relations with China based on some groundless accusation. At present, China is Australia's largest trading partner. According to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, bilateral trade between China and Australia totaled $143.13 billion in 2018, up 14.1 percent year-on-year. Specifically, Australian exports to China rose 14.7 percent to $87.61 billion, accounting for 34.1 percent of the country's total exports, while its imports from China were up 13.1 percent to reach $55.52 billion, accounting for 24.4 percent of its total imports. Thus, Australia posted a trade surplus of $32.09 billion against China in 2018, up 17.5 percent compared with the previous year.

Given Australia's trade dependence on China, any trade-related measure taken by the Chinese government could see shockwaves in the Australian economy. There have been delays to clearance of Australian coal at some Chinese ports, which Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang said are nothing but strengthened inspections of coal imports aimed at protecting the legitimate interests of Chinese companies and the environment. Coal is Australia's second largest export commodity, and China's coal purchases account for nearly 4 percent of Australia's GDP. Data that suggests China's reduced coal imports somehow upsets all the interested parties in Australia, which are looking forward to a fix by the newly elected government.

Fundamentally speaking, the so-called growing China influence is totally justified for a country that is seeing strengthened trade ties with China. Considering the economic importance of China to Australia, it is impossible and paranoid of some politicians to keep China completely away from the country. After all, economic base determines superstructure. As long as the bilateral economic and trade ties continue to develop, the so-called China influence will only persist and grow strong.

Perhaps this is why Australia's Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong recently vowed to have a more "considered" policy toward China if the party wins the election. While her remarks still failed to indicate any concrete shift in policy approach toward China, one sure thing is that no matter which party wins the election eventually, the new government cannot ignore the economic importance of China, and soothing relations with China would be one of their priorities.

It is hoped that the new Australian government could remove its tinted glasses against China and bring the bilateral relationship back to the normal track. A deterioration in ties will only hurt the interests of both sides. And when dealing with China, Australian policymakers need to redefine their policy from a more pragmatic perspective.