The US may want to rethink its anti-China policy as Beijing’s focus on providing international coronavirus aid and digital and health care investments seems to be working.
It’s not just the coronavirus that is upping the ante, but tensions over Huawei and other technologies that are threatening to create a new cold war. And Australia will be caught in the middle.
Justin Trudeau’s government should assemble a strong, non-partisan China team led by the West to build a uniquely Canadian Asia strategy, with China at its core.
In its mirroring of the US position, the government is indicating it believes China needs to have its wings clipped, while Labor has taken a different view.
The espionage allegation against the Australian writer comes against a backdrop of rising trade and political tensions – and the Australian government’s response is hardening.
No matter who forms government after the next election, managing Australia’s relationship with China will continue to be a major challenge, and vitally important in a region remaking itself.
China has reneged on past promises it has made to the US. With the deadline for a deal fast approaching, the solution may lie in learning from a global organization the president hates: the WTO.