With allegations of espionage, the call to investigate the origin of Covid-19 and the blow to the Belt and Road, tensions between Australia and China have worsened.
Australia on April 21 announced the cancellation of the Victorian government's agreement to join the Belt and Road Initiative because it did not meet national foreign policy priorities. This is the latest development of the "free fall" relationship between Australia and China.
With the cancellation of the memorandum and framework agreement signed in 2018 and 2019, Foreign Minister Marise Payne angered Beijing by targeting one of the country's major priorities. The Belt and Road Initiative is considered by experts as an infrastructure network to provide Beijing with financial and geopolitical leverage.
All eyes are now on China to see how they will retaliate against Canberra. Immediately after Australia announced the cancellation of the agreement, the Chinese embassy in Australia said that Canberra's decision was "unreasonable and provocative", "would definitely cause additional damage to bilateral relations", emphasizing the country. "Very dissatisfied and firmly opposed" to this move.
Last April, Australia and the United States called for a thorough investigation into how nCoV has turned from a local epidemic in central China into a pandemic. This move has led to outrageous warnings from the Chinese Ambassador to Australia Thanh Canh Nghiep.
Thanh said the request for an investigation could lead Chinese consumers to boycott Australian wine or stop traveling to the country. He added that promoting an independent investigation was "dangerous".
Canberra's call has made Beijing see it as a US-backed effort to discredit it. The rift has hit Australian exporters, as China imposed a series of import bans on agricultural products such as beef, barley and wood.
A few weeks after Cheng's warning, Beijing suspended imports from Australia's four major beef suppliers. Neither side, however, openly linked the trade tensions with Australia's call for investigation, saying the cause was "technical problems". But soon, China announced anti-dumping duties on barley and measures against Australian wine.
An issue that also stresses the two countries is the Chinese arrest of Australian citizens, including writer Yang Jun and journalist Cheng Lei. Yang was born in China, arrested in January 2020 and faced with espionage charges, which she denied. Foreign Minister Payne criticized China's treatment of Yang as "unacceptable".
Cheng, an experienced journalist who worked for China's Central Television's CGTN international channel in Beijing, was detained at least from August 14, 2020. She was formally arrested in February on charges of "providing national secrets to foreign countries".
Two other Australian journalists rushed out of China in September 2020 after police tried to interrogate them. Meanwhile, Beijing accused Canberra of raiding the homes of Chinese journalists while investigating a covert influence campaign.
Australia is part of a Pentagon intelligence coalition consisting of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Great Britain and the United States, accusing China of violating legally binding international commitments to Hong Kong, after Beijing imposed the law. security for this city.
Five countries have criticized China for excluding pro-democracy lawmakers from the Hong Kong legislature and raised concerns about the intentions of Chinese technology companies abroad.
Beijing reacted fiercely to the West's attempt to build a united front against them. "Whether they have five or ten eyes, if they dare to harm China's sovereignty, security and development interests, they should watch out for being blinded," a spokesman for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned. .
