OPINION: The two countries may be renegotiating a fresh framework for diplomatic ties, but they are doing it with palpable wariness on both sides.
Just look at their statements since ministerial-level talks were rekindled a few months ago. There is a touch of nostalgia for the good old days, at least in Australia, for Gough Whitlam’s pioneering trip in 1971, but little warmth, not even of the faux diplomatic kind.Instead, there are firm pronouncements of national interest out of Beijing and Canberra, with stiff agreement that both might benefit from a recommencement of political dialogue.
nor the lifting of the plethora of trade measures against Australian industry designed to punish Canberra for its political sins. Still, the reasons for even a modest restart in bilateral dialogue are clear and compelling enough for both countries. The wolf warrior diplomats at the Foreign Ministry in Beijing have not suffered professionally. Indeed, they have been promoted. But they are now more disciplined about their targets.Xi has clearly judged that Beijing needs some diplomatic breathing space after several years in which China’s behaviour has seen its public standing plummet in just about every advanced economy.
Australians often mistakenly view their relations with China in a silo. In truth, we are playing on a much bigger stage. In the country’s peak economic forum last week, Xi tried to dispel the widespread conviction that he has it in for the entrepreneurs who drive the economy in China. “I have always supported private enterprises,” he said.
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