relationship Each week China Matters collates news items about the Australia-China relationship Media Roundup Issue 93 (13/10/18 – 19/10/18) 1. Turnbull reset with China could swing back on Morrison 14/10/18 Glenda Korporaal The Australian While Malcolm Turnbull had moved to “reset” Australia’s strained relations with China just before his ousting, it appears military issues in the East and South China seas could flare as a new problem in ties between Canberra and Beijing. While it was not a statement from the Foreign Ministry, Friday’s editorial in the state-owned China Daily makes it clear Beijing is concerned at the strengthening military ties between Australia and Japan, and whether both will be drawn into US-led actions it sees as aimed at containing its reach and influence. Beijing was clearly not happy with the statements released after the meetings in Sydney between the Japanese and Australian defence and foreign ministers announcing joint military exercises next year in waters north of Japan. Read more (Paywall): https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/turnbull-reset- with-china-could-swing-back-on-morrison/news- story/ad30462075d9eab4886cd014e4b3e38f 2. Donald Trump’s China ‘poison pill’ may hit Australia as US pressures allies 14/10/18 John Kehoe The Australian Financial Review A China "poison pill" prescribed by Donald Trump for close US trade partners should send a shudder through Australian business boardrooms. The renegotiated North American Free Trade Agreement, tacitly agreed to this month, gave the US virtual veto rights over Canada and Mexico signing free trade deals with China. China Matters Media Roundup Issue 93 (13/10/18 - 19/10/18) relationship Each week China Matters collates news items about the Australia-China relationship After decades of generally supporting China's integration into the global economy, Washington is now in the formative stages of trying to dislocate commercial supply chains between Beijing and America's foreign partners. The US is fed up with China's theft of intellectual property from American companies, commercial cyber-attacks, forced technology transfers, state subsidised firms and limited US access to Asia's largest economy. Read more (Paywall): https://www.afr.com/news/politics/world/donald-trumps-china- poison-pill-may-hit-australia-as-us-pressures-allies-20181010-h16hca 3. China’s cold war warning to Australia: don’t side with US 14/10/18 Primrose Riordan and Glenda Korporaal The Australian Donald Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, said the Morrison government was increasing its naval co-operation with the US in the contentious South China Sea, as Chinese state media issued a blunt warning to Australia not to side with the Americans in any new cold war. In an editorial, The China Daily warned Australia not to be “led by the nose” by America. It said Australia was walking a “tightrope’’ between the US and China and risked being wedged by Beijing. The editorial said there was a “fragile peace” in the region that could be “shattered by the slightest misstep”. The editorial was published in response to criticism from Australia and Japan of Chinese militarisation in the South China Sea. Read more (Paywall): https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/chinas-cold-war- warning-to-australia-dont-side-with-us/news- story/df08d3100f9cf02dbff0d2d6ba74cbdc 4. South China Sea set to top agenda at Asean defence ministers’ meeting 14/10/18 Sarah Zheng South China Morning Post China Matters Media Roundup Issue 93 (13/10/18 - 19/10/18) relationship Each week China Matters collates news items about the Australia-China relationship Beijing’s militarisation of disputed waterway has encouraged greater cooperation among regional players and major powers. Long-standing tensions in the South China Sea are expected to come to the fore at a key regional defence meeting in Southeast Asia next week, amid an intensifying strategic clash between China and the US. Defence ministers from the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) (sic) will gather in Singapore for their 12th annual meeting from Thursday to Saturday, along with their counterparts from China, the United States, Australia, India and Japan. While observers expect the delegates to find some consensus on less contentious issues such as disaster relief, maritime research and anti-terrorism efforts – including a regional counterterrorism intelligence sharing network advocated by Singapore – they do not expect any concrete progress on core territorial disputes. Read more: https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/2168437/south- china-sea-set-top-agenda-asean-defence-ministers-meeting?edition=hong-kong 5. Economy relies on China as international students prop up our universities 14/10/18 Harrison White News.com.au IT WAS 3.30pm as I waited at a popular Melbourne cafe in the heart of the city. I had arranged to meet Xing Wu, a 32-year-old Chinese international student from the Fujian Province in the southeast of China. I had arrived early — enough time to sit back and watch pedestrian traffic. I couldn’t help but notice the high levels of young Asian students streaming past to Central Station, across the road from the city campus of RMIT. When Xing arrived, I offered the traditional Western greeting of a handshake and a hello. In return, he offered me the traditional Chinese custom of a gift — in this case a sweet Chinese berry drink, bought from one of Melbourne’s ever- increasing supply of Asian specialty stores. China Matters Media Roundup Issue 93 (13/10/18 - 19/10/18) relationship Each week China Matters collates news items about the Australia-China relationship I had arranged to speak with Xing to better understand his experience. Why study here? Why travel thousands of kilometres and pay exorbitant fees? In Xing’s case, he has paid around $64,000 for a two-year accounting course. Read more: https://www.news.com.au/finance/economy/australian- economy/economy-relies-on-china-as-international-students-prop-up-our- universities/news-story/6bea7fc2c0c7dbd364346b74722c67df 6. China’s car sales slump sends warning to Australia 15/10/18 Robert Gottliebsen The Australian The Wall Street Journal was blunt: “Auto sales in China fell for a third straight month in September, as the country’s auto sector faces what looks to be its first yearly decline in passenger-car sales in almost three decades”. In Australia, our first reaction is to focus on the obvious implications to our mineral exports of what is a significant Chinese economic event. There is clear danger. But when we look at why Chinese car sales are falling, we discover that what is happening to our largest trading partner could easily be duplicated in Australia. I will start with the actual numbers and the obvious causes of the fall but as we’ll see, there are hidden forces at work that have great relevance Down Under. Read more (Paywall): https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/opinion/robert- gottliebsen/chinas-car-sales-slump-sends-warning-to-australia/news- story/ef6b85b7da7e2319c2e5e84ddeb3b8c8 7. Reconciling with China in the Pacific 15/10/18 Euan Moyle and Alexandre Dayant The Interpreter Last month, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Australia’s Foreign Minister Marise Payne on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly China Matters Media Roundup Issue 93 (13/10/18 - 19/10/18) relationship Each week China Matters collates news items about the Australia-China relationship in New York. Wang Yi struck a surprisingly conciliatory tone, expressing the wish to partner with Australia in the development of the Pacific Islands region. While Australia remains by far the largest aid donor and trade and investment partner in the region, shown by the Lowy Institute’s Pacific Aid Map, China has increased its aid program rapidly in recent years, spending approximately US$1.26 billion in the Pacific from 2011 to 2018. With China now challenging Australia’s traditionally preeminent position in aid in the Pacific, the question remains whether Canberra can work together with new donors, particularly China, to reconcile vastly different aid and development programs and reduce tensions and suspicion. Read more: https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/reconciling-china-pacific 8. Don't pick Donald Trump over Beijing, Chinese think tank warns 15/10/18 Michael Smith and Andrew Tillett Australian Financial Review China has warned Australia's economic ties with its biggest trading partner will be damaged if it sides with the United States over trade or military disputes at a time when the bilateral relationship has been reset under the Morrison government. Liu Qing, the head of Asia-Pacific research at the China Institute of International Studies, a think tank under China's foreign ministry, said Australia should adopt a "long-term view" on China. "Under Turnbull's administration, the China bilateral relationship really hit bottom. Now the situation has slightly improved with the change of prime minister," Mr Liu told The Australian Financial Review. "The ball is in Australia's court. It is up to Australia to decide which direction to kick the ball. If Australia takes sides with the US, this would hurt the China- Australia relationship. It will impact trade investment, tourism and personnel exchanges." Read more (Paywall): https://www.afr.com/news/dont-pick-donald-trump-over- beijing-chinese-think-tank-warns-20181014-h16mqc China Matters Media Roundup Issue 93 (13/10/18 - 19/10/18) relationship Each week China Matters collates news items about the Australia-China relationship 9. Marise Payne hoses down John Bolton's tough talk on South China Sea 15/10/18 David Wroe The Sydney Morning Herald Foreign Minister Marise Payne has adopted a conspicuously cautious stance on the prospect of more assertive naval patrols in the South China Sea after Donald Trump’s hawkish top national security official vowed the United States and allies would "do a lot more" in the flashpoint waters.