Chinese Premier Li Qiang has gone the raw prawn with Australians:
China has declared the bilateral relationship with Australia to be “back on track” ahead of a full day of activities in Adelaide involving Chinese Premier Li Qiang.
Mr Qiang’s visit, the first since that of his predecessor Li Keqiang, included bilateral talks in Canberra on Monday with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and a visit to a Chinese-owned lithium mine in Western Australia on Tuesday.
In a statement released by the Chinese Embassy, Mr Li said “shelving differences” had helped get the bilateral relationship “back on track after a period of twists and turns”.
Relations have broken down over the past few years in cyclical ways. However, this has only exposed the underlying structural schism between the illiberal Chinese state and Australia’s liberal democracy.
That fundamental schism is getting wider, not narrower.
At the top of the tree is the political difference that means Australia is, and always will be, part of a liberal state coalition that will resist autocratic Chinese expansionism.
This has only gotten worse since China backed Russia in Ukraine, deepening Cold War 2.0.
This is the truth that underpins deep Australian suspicions of the Chinese state and structural belief in AUKUS and ANZUS:
Next up is the economic dependence that sees even Albo the Grovellor seeking to bulwark critical supply chains in energy and minerals. Thankfully, the unfolding crash in iron ore and coal will soon undo some broader trade dependence, no thanks to Albo.
The third is the social exchange. Australian Chinese are deeply split over Beijing’s influence in Australia, torn between the desire for peace and safety abroad, and hostaged loved ones in China.
Panda’s cannot bridge these gaps:
Setting the warmer tone, Li took a trip to Adelaide Zoo in bright sunshine and announced China would loan new “adorable” giant pandas to replace popular pair Wang Wang and Fu Ni, who have failed to produce offspring since their arrival in 2009 and will return by the end of the year.
