Australian officials stayed in “regular contact” with the Chinese embassy in Canberra to “explain our decisions” even when Australian ministers were subjected to a two-year diplomatic freeze, newly released documents show. The former Morrison government had been “willing to engage with China in dialogue at any time”, according to Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade briefing notes, which also described the relationship as being under “considerable strain”. Australian government ministers were blocked from meetings or calls with their direct Chinese counterparts for more than two years, although lower-level diplomats and…
Tag: Richard Marles (Australian politician)
After the freeze: can Australia and China rekindle relations?
Australia and China’s defence ministers have met in person for the first time since China froze its communications with high-level Australian politicians in early 2020. Foreign affairs and defence correspondent Daniel Hurst speaks with Jane Lee about the key tensions that remain unresolved between the two countries now that the freeze is over. How to listen to podcasts: everything you need to know The Guardian
Thaw or cold war: will Labor succeed in unfreezing Australia-China relations?
After the end of a two-year diplomatic freeze between China and Australia, the new Albanese government is embarking on a grand experiment: is a different tone enough to get the relationship on a better footing? Gone are Peter Dutton’s blunt declarations that Beijing wants to turn countries like Australia into tributary states, as is the prediction Australia would almost certainly join any US-led military action to defend Taiwan against invasion. Anthony Albanese’s government has reverted to Australia’s long-standing bipartisan position against any unilateral changes to the status quo. At the…