Firmly Rejects China's Demands, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne: We Cannot Meet Their Requirements

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne. (Wikimedia Commons/The Official CTBTO Photostream)

JAKARTA - Australia will not comply with China's demands to change policy to restart bilateral talks, Foreign Minister Marise Payne said.

"We have been told by China that they will only engage in high-level dialogue if we meet certain conditions. Australia does not put conditions on dialogue. We cannot meet (their) requirements now," Foreign Minister Payne said in a speech in Canberra. Friday August 6th.

Beijing's relations with Canberra began to falter after the Kangaroo Country banned Huawei from its nascent 5G broadband network in 2018. Conditions have cooled further after Canberra last year called for an independent investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, which was first reported in central China last year.

China responded by imposing tariffs on Australian commodities, including wine and barley, and restricting imports of beef, coal and wine from Australia. The Chinese embassy in Canberra did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Payne's speech.

Last April, the Australian Government announced its decision to cancel two agreements between the State of Victoria and China on the Belt and Road Initiative.

The move was taken by Secretary of State Marise Payne and announced on the evening of Wednesday 21 April. Payne said his party had informed the Chinese side before this decision was announced.

Illustration of the container port of Sydney, Australia. (Wikimedia Commons/Aaron Jacobs)

Despite saying Australia remains committed to maintaining relations with China, the decision was strongly protested. The Chinese Embassy criticized Foreign Minister Payne's move to veto two framework agreements signed by the state of Victoria. This move is considered provocative and will further damage China's relations with Australia.

"Another illogical and provocative step taken by the Australian side against China," the Chinese embassy said in a statement.

A strong response also came from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which warned Australia of the risk of deteriorating bilateral relations between the two countries, after Australia scrapped Victoria State's deal with China under the Belt and Road Initiative.

"Australia is the only country to tear up the Belt and Road Initiative agreement which sets a dangerous precedent. China reserves the right to take further action," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin. Australia was also asked to abandon its Cold War mentality and ideological bias. to then correct the mistake and change direction.

"The Australian side reviewed more than 1,000 deals and only decided to cancel four deals and two of them were deals with China. So Australia's claim that the decision did not target specific countries is no longer valid," he criticized.

To note, despite the bilateral tensions, China remains Australia's biggest trading partner. As of March, Australia exported goods worth AUD 149 billion or around US$ 110.1 billion to China. While down 0.6 percent from a year earlier, exports have been supported by strong prices for iron ore, the single largest item in trade with China.