Australia's AUKUS pact raises doubt over its reliability - Chinese diplomat

Australia's defence alliance with Britain and the United States had led to China doubting its reliability as an economic partner, a senior Chinese diplomat told a forum marking 50 years of diplomatic ties. China is Australia's largest trading partner and biggest customer for its iron ore, but disputes led to a years-long diplomatic freeze and China imposing sanctions on many other Australian exports.

Australia's defence alliance with Britain and the United States had led to China doubting its reliability as an economic partner, a senior Chinese diplomat told a forum marking 50 years of diplomatic ties.

China is Australia's largest trading partner and biggest customer for its iron ore, but disputes led to a years-long diplomatic freeze and China imposing sanctions on many other Australian exports. A meeting at last month's G20 summit between Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Chinese President Xi Jinping, the first between Australia and Xi since 2016, "sent a clear signal about the need for improving the relationship", Fu Ying, vice chairperson of the National People's Congress foreign affairs committee, told the online forum on Wednesday.

Fu said that the meeting between the two leaders gave reason to be optimistic but she warned that Australia needed to look at China's concerns and be patient. "Its easy to fall down, its much harder to come back," said Fu, ambassador to Australia between 2003 to 2007, who also served as China's vice minister of foreign affairs.

The forum hosted by the University of Technology Sydney's Australia-China Relations Institute gave a platform to current and former ambassadors from both countries to mark this month's 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties. Fu said economic globalisation was cracking, under pressure from geopolitical conflict and the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, and she questioned if the world was moving from a long period of peace and prosperity and heading to division.

"Australia's participation in the U.S. led tripartite security alliance AUKUS also gave rise to doubt among people in China about its reliability as a cooperation partner," she said. Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States announced their defence technology pact known as AUKUS last year.

Their defence ministers will meet in Washington on Wednesday to discuss a plan for Australia to obtain a nuclear-powered submarine fleet, which has been opposed by China. Australia has said its steps to normalise ties with China would not bring a shift in its defence policy.

Australia's ambassador to China, Graham Fletcher, told the forum political differences had prompted China to disrupt trade with Australia, but the recent meeting between the leaders was a welcome development. "Our difficulties have not gone away, but we can now start talking about them, and other things as well," he said.

Consular discussions, defence, trade and investment talks could be resumed step by step, he said.