China’s ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, has denounced the Aukus nuclear-powered submarine plan as an “unnecessary consumption of the hardworking Australian taxpayers’ money”.
Xiao said the multi-decade defence plan would consume “tremendous” amounts of money “which could be used for other purposes like infrastructure, like reducing the cost of living, and giving the Australian people a better future”.
Xiao made the pointed remarks during a press conference at the Chinese embassy in Canberra on Thursday, when he suggested further improvements in the diplomatic and trading relationship were possible but would take “mutual respect”.
In another sign of incremental progress, he announced China would resume imports of Australian timber from Thursday, a week after the trade minister, Don Farrell, visited Beijing for talks that did not immediately appear to produce breakthroughs.
But Xiao also used the press conference to say the Quad grouping of the US, Japan, Australia and India should not “target China”.
He sought to discredit Japan’s leadership on the world stage as it prepares to host the G7 summit in Hiroshima, which the Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, will attend.
“To me personally, I think it’s ironic for Japan, a loser in the second world war, to talk about safeguarding the international system established at the end of the second world war,” the Chinese ambassador said.
“Between China and Australia, we don’t have historical skirmishes. We didn’t whatsoever ever threaten Australia. We didn’t bomb Darwin like Japan did. We didn’t kill Australians like Japanese did. We didn’t torture the Australian prisoners in a way that is extremely unacceptable.”
The comments reprised some of the arguments made when Xiao criticised the then Japanese ambassador to Australia, Shingo Yamagami, in January.
The planned Quad summit in Sydney was cancelled on Wednesday after the US president, Joe Biden, cut short his regional travel to deal with the debt ceiling crisis. Instead the leaders of the four Quad countries are expected to meet on the sidelines of the G7 in Hiroshima this weekend.
The Albanese government is seeking to “stabilise” Australia’s diplomatic and trading relationship with China, although it remains committed to Aukus and continues to raise concerns that Beijing’s rapid military buildup lacks transparency.
The defence strategic review, released last month, called for Australia to project power further from its shores, in part because China’s assertion of sovereignty over the contested South China Sea “adversely impacts Australia’s national interests”.
‘Aukus is not a good idea’
Xiao on Thursday said it was “absolutely unfounded” for Australia to spend “huge” sums of money on “unnecessary” defence equipment while targeting China.
“China is not a threat – was not a threat, is not a threat, is not going to be a threat in the future – to Australia,” he said.
He condemned the security partnership between Australia, the UK and the US which aims to collaborate on advanced defence technologies.
“Aukus is not a good idea itself – and the nuclear submarine is an even worse one.”
The submarine plan is projected to cost $268bn to $368bn between now and the mid 2050s, but most of this amount is not in the first four years.
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Still, Xiao said the Chinese government would welcome a visit by Albanese for talks with the president, Xi Jinping, at a mutually convenient date.
He said Chinese and Australian officials were keeping in touch through diplomatic channels about the timing.
Asked for an update on the cases of Australians detained in China, Cheng Lei and Yang Hengjun, Xiao said national security-related matters took “more time” to reach verdicts.
Xiao reiterated his own personal concerns for Cheng, the journalist who had not seen her children in “such a long time”. Cheng last week marked 1,000 days in detention.
“Personally, as a Chinese ambassador to this country, I can share with you: I have my personal sympathy to her and to her family,” Xiao said.
“So based on humanitarian grounds, I have been trying, I will continue to try to do my utmost to facilitate more access, that she could have some kind of access granted to her partner and friends and families to let them know that she’s OK.”
On the trade issues, Xiao argued the Australian government should take steps to properly consider China’s push to join the regional trade pact known as the CPTPP.
“China is open for discussion and I think it is high time for our Australian government to think about setting up a working group on China’s entry into the CPTPP,” he said.
The Australian government continues to press for an end to tariffs or restrictions on a range of Australian exports – including lobster, red meat and wine – rolled out at the height of diplomatic tensions in 2020.
Xiao said the agreement to settle a barley tariff dispute bilaterally showed “good momentum”.
China agreed in April to launch an urgent review of hefty tariffs on Australian barley in return for a temporary suspension of Australia’s challenge at the World Trade Organization.
As the relationship further improved, Xiao said, Chinese businesses and consumers would have increasingly favourable attitudes to Australian products.
