China have told us what they want, what they really, really want.
Ok, so I know I’ve gone on about China in recent weeks, but what they did last week was incredible, so I feel like I’ve got to comment on it.
And for my money, this is the most important thing going on for us right now, apart from Covid. It’s radically changing our diplomatic stance, it’s radically changing out economic structure.
It’s massive.
Ok, so you know that there’s an escalating trade-war between us and China. China is putting tariffs and import bans on a bunch of products, in measures that have been called coercive diplomacy.
Well, last week, they issued their siege demands.
Not directly of course, but through a “leaked” document that somehow made its way from the Chinese embassy into the hands of the Australian media.
What the document showed was what China is angry about, and by implication, what needs to happen for relations between China and Australia to ‘normalise’ again.
If you haven’t seen it, take a look:
I get that they’re miffed about this stuff, and even if their version of events were right, what are they seriously expecting us to do?
“Unfriendly and antagonistic reports in the media”? Ok, so what? Shut down the media if it doesn’t print stuff the CCP likes?
What about up-start bloggers like me?
That’s how media works in China but it’s not how it works here, and hopefully, praying to the ghosts of the ANZACs, how it will ever work here.
China seriously seems to be suggesting the road forward is for Australia to:
- Muzzle the media;
- Muzzle the Parliament;
- Muzzle the diplomats
- Stop complaining about spies.
- Reinstall Huawei spyware, and
- Let the Chinese Communist Party buy whatever assets it wants.
And that’s not even getting to things like Covid, Hong Kong or the South China Sea. That’s just sticking to how we run things here in Australia.
Are you kidding?
For me, the most amazing, and perhaps scariest thing about this, is that China doesn’t feel any need to sugar-coat any of this.
Effectively it’s shut up and do what the CCP tells you.
(Actually no, the scariest thing about this is that we have Labor grey-beards out there saying we should consider it and get relations back to “normal”. Oh boy.)
That said, it’s relieving that it’s all out in the open now. It’s relieving that we don’t have to pretend, like we were a just few years ago, that there were no problematic consequences involved with selling the economy and democracy out to the CCP.
At least we all know where we stand now.
JG
Roger says
Our biggest trading partner doesn’t like us any more and it is going to impose more and more sanctions on us until we cave to their demands.
Do we seriously have any option other than to toe their line? We need to diversify our trading partners, but how do we do that in the very short time frame that would be required. The Covid 19 taught us a quick lesson on how utterly dependent we are on China for so many essential health items including pharmaceuticals. Not just Australia but the whole world has taken the easy path and willingly let China become the Worlds` factory. It stopped all the western nations having to confront the problems of pollution and industrial relations and human rights. Just farm it out to China and then turn a blind eye to the ways of the CCP.
We have no one to blame but ourselves and the way forward is not going to be easy for Australia but we must spare a thought for all of the Pacific Island and African Nations that have fallen victim to their cheque book diplomacy. When (not if) China puts the hard word on them they will definitely not have any option but to do what they are told.
Having said all that, what China is doing at the moment is not vastly different to what the USA did at the height of it`s power, excepting that it is a capitalist democracy. The USA took on the role of the worlds policeman and used its military and financial muscle to achieve its ends. They just happened to suit Australia’s` ends too so we didn`t raise a fuss, in fact we actively supported them..
It seems the world now has a new schoolyard bully and unfortunately for us he is not on our side.