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Media Roundup Issue 97 (10/11/18 – 16/11/18)

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relationship Each week China Matters collates news items about the Australia-China relationship Media Roundup Issue 97 (10/11/18 – 16/11/18) 1. Australia-China relations: Business banks on lasting thaw 09/11/18 Michael Smith The Australian Financial Review It was the week the world came to China. Belarusian folk dancers and Brazilian drummers competed for attention with Australian didgeridoo players. Elderly ladies from Costa Rica lugging cases of coffee and New Zealanders with crates of kiwifruit were among those who queued for hours to clear China's security checks and enter the vast wheel-shaped complex the outskirts of Shanghai. President Xi Jinping's inaugural import-themed trade fair attracted 3600 companies from 150 countries. The United States, which is embroiled in a trade war with China, did not turn up, but Australia was there in force. Read more (Paywall): https://bit.ly/2zNRFXZ 2. The Belt and Road in Victoria: No Big Deal 10/11/18 Jacinta Keast The Diplomat This article is written by a Research Assistant at China Matters, Jacinta Keast. The Victoria state government’s decision to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China on the Belt and Road Initiative has alarmed some. However, signing an MoU is no big deal. It should be viewed as a natural extension of Victoria’s strong trading relationship with China and not a fundamental change in policy. This is primarily because, despite Australia not officially “signing on” to the initiative, Chinese firms are already participating in numerous Belt and Road projects in Australia. The Australian media has framed the country’s participation in the Belt and Road markedly different from Chinese sources. Chinese companies, provincial governments, and media routinely list any kind of outbound foreign investment by a China Matters Media Roundup Issue 97 (10/11/18 – 16/11/18) relationship Each week China Matters collates news items about the Australia-China relationship state-owned enterprise or Chinese private company as a BRI project, even if the host country is not yet a BRI country. From this point of view, Australia is already participating in the BRI. Read more (Paywall): https://thediplomat.com/2018/11/the-belt-and-road-in-victoria- no-big-deal/ 3. Australia's own Pacific debt diplomacy 11/11/18 Jonathan Pryke and Matthew Dorman The Australian Financial Review Last week, Prime Minister Scott Morrison made one of the most significant Australian policy announcements on the Pacific region in recent history. Striking a tone intended to score points at home and in the region, Mr Morrison called on Australia to "open a new chapter… in relations with our Pacific family. One based on respect, equality and openness." He committed to five new diplomatic missions, enhanced defence cooperation, getting Australian broadcasters into the region, $1 billion to support Australian businesses in the region, and $2 billion for a new concessional finance facility for infrastructure in the Pacific. If that reads like a lot, that's because it is. It is no secret why Mr Morrison is making these commitments. China has been building its diplomatic, development and economic links with the Pacific since 2006. China maintains diplomatic relations with eight Pacific countries; another six recognise Taiwan. China is an increasingly significant trade partner for all Pacific countries. It is the third largest donor, contributing 8 per cent of aid spending between 2011 and 2016 (Australia gave 45 per cent). State enterprises, entering with the support of Chinese loans, are now engaged in commercial activity across the board. A new Chinese diaspora is also actively engaged in the region's economies. Read more (Paywall): https://www.afr.com/opinion/columnists/australias-own-pacific- debt-diplomacy-20181111-h17rfk 4. Reset in ties between China and Australia will benefit both sides 10/11/18 SCMP Editorial South China Morning Post China Matters Media Roundup Issue 97 (10/11/18 – 16/11/18) relationship Each week China Matters collates news items about the Australia-China relationship China and Australia have much to benefit from ensuring smooth relations. The chance to thaw frosty ties has come with Australian foreign minister Marise Payne’s visit to Beijing, the first by a top official from the nation in more than six months. There are thorny issues to be overcome and Canberra’s suspicions and mistrust about Chinese intentions will take time to resolve. Communication and cooperation are the right approach to bringing about a much-needed reset. A change of Australian leadership has brought about the fresh mindset. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has tempered the anti-Beijing rhetoric of his predecessor, Malcolm Turnbull, with an acknowledgement of the importance of good economic relations. Payne echoed the sentiment in talks with State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, saying that Australia welcomed Chinese investment. Wang said China’s development was an opportunity, not a threat. Read more: https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight- opinion/asia/article/2172639/reset-ties-between-china-and-australia-will- benefit#add-comment 5. Beijing's secret plot to infiltrate UN used Australian insider 11/11/18 Nick McKenzie, Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, Zach Dorfman and Fergus Hunter The Sydney Morning Herald Earlier this year, a petite 62-year-old woman dubbed the ‘‘queen of the Australian- China social scene’’ walked out of a US federal prison. Charming and gregarious, Sheri Yan was once known for hosting soirees around the world where diplomats mingled with millionaire business executives and socialites. But her life changed forever in October 2015, when she was arrested by FBI agents in New York and accused of bribing the former president of the United Nations General Assembly, John Ashe. According to 10 serving and former Australian and US national security officials, the Chinese government was conducting a clandestine foreign interference operation targeting the most prominent symbol of the global rules-based order: the UN. This bold operation used UN-approved non-government organisations (NGOs) with apparently charitable intentions as fronts for channelling illicit payments to UN diplomats – via a network of middlemen, millionaires and suspected spies. Yan was a key player, say some of these sources. China Matters Media Roundup Issue 97 (10/11/18 – 16/11/18) relationship Each week China Matters collates news items about the Australia-China relationship Read more: https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/beijing-s-secret-plot-to-infiltrate-un- used-australian-insider-20181031-p50d2e.html 6. From student to drone swarms: how the Chinese Communist Party trains its cadres in Australia 10/11/18 Alex Joske The Sydney Morning Herald In 2009, a student called Wang Xiangke came to the Australian National University as a visiting PhD scholar. It was a year after the Olympic torch relay passed through Canberra, attracting thousands of Chinese students who organised with the Chinese embassy to protect the so-called sacred flame. That torch relay raised the same questions about the Chinese Communist Party’s overseas influence that have now developed into a national debate. I was there as a child and clearly remember the burning flags and scuffles between Chinese students and Free Tibet protesters. But Wang Xiangke was no ordinary international student from China, one of the thousands of aspiring scholars rightly embraced by Australia’s tertiary education sector. Instead, Wang was sent here by the People’s Liberation Army’s National University of Defence Technology (NUDT) as part of its program to use global academic expertise to achieve military ends. Read more: https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/from-student-to-drone-swarms- how-the-chinese-communist-party-trains-its-cadres-in-australia-20181108- p50evg.html 7. We could work with China in the region: Scott Morrison 12/11/18 Phillip Coorey The Australian Financial Review Australia would be willing to co-fund infrastructure projects with China, using its newly announced $2 billion package as leverage, if it helped with regional stability, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said. Speaking to The Australian Financial Review before his departure to Singapore for the East Asia Summit, Mr Morrison said Australia should not feel the need to choose China Matters Media Roundup Issue 97 (10/11/18 – 16/11/18) relationship Each week China Matters collates news items about the Australia-China relationship between competing regional giants, the United States and China but, as John Howard did, seek to elevate both relationships in parallel. "The more stable the region is, the more prosperous the region is," he said. Asked if that meant partnering in one-off projects as part of China's Belt and Road Initiative, Mr Morrison concurred, although he would not use the name the Chinese have given to their global infrastructure initiative. Read more (Paywall): https://www.afr.com/news/we-could-work-with-china-in-the- region-scott-morrison-20181111-h17s3q 8. Signalling a whole-of-Australia approach to China 13/11/18 Andrew Forrest The Interpreter One of the most challenging aspects of Australia’s bilateral relationship with China is finding new ways to signal our interest in the big issues that are shaping the future of the region – a task almost as difficult as deciding amongst ourselves what those issues are. The signalling of Australia’s interests can take many forms and serve multiple functions. The government of Victoria’s recent decision to sign a memorandum of understanding with Beijing
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