Beijing Uses Trade to ‘Manipulate Public Debate’: Liberal Senator Claire Chandler

Liberal Senator Claire Chandler makes her maiden speech in the Senate Chamber at Parliament House Canberra, Australia, on July 23, 2019. AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

Australia needs to be “very clear-eyed” about Beijing’s strategy of using economic incentives to “manipulate public debate” and divert international attention from its military aggression, a Liberal senator has warned.

The warning follows the conclusion of the three-year trade freeze between China and Australia, culminating in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) scrapping one of its final trade restrictions, Australia’s wine export tariffs, in late March.

The punitive tariffs were imposed as part of Beijing’s retaliation campaign against Australia after former Prime Minister Scott Morrison called for an independent investigation into the origin of COVID-19.

The Labor government, on the contrary, has been more lenient in its rhetoric in an attempt to improve trade relations with China.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese welcomed the latest outcome, saying that the re-entry of Australian bottled wine into the Chinese market would “benefit both Australian producers and Chinese consumers.”

Nonetheless, Liberal Senator Clare Chandler urged the government to be more cautious, noting that while lifting the coercive restrictions is welcomed, “we must not be fooled into treating it as the main focus of our foreign policy.”

“Australia needs to be very clear-eyed about the Chinese Government’s tactics of using trade to manipulate public debate and distract us from their increasing aggression in the South China Sea and elsewhere around the world,” the Tasmanian senator told The Epoch Times.

“We must maintain a clear view of how the Chinese Government’s strategy is affecting other nations.”

Intensified Situation In the Indo-Pacific

Escalating tensions between China and the Philippines in the Indo-Pacific region, as well as the Taiwan Strait and Sino-Indian border disputes, underscore the urgency of this matter.

On March 23, Chinese coast guard ships hit a Philippine supply boat with water cannons in the latest confrontation near a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, causing injuries to its navy crew members and heavy damage to the wooden vessel.

Similar provocative moves have been made by Beijing, with one attack injuring Australian divers. In late 2023, a Chinese vessel used active sonar to harass Australian navy divers clearing fishing nets in international waters.

The incident took place in the same week Mr. Albanese hailed his government’s effort to improve relations with the communist regime, saying that Beijing would remove the remaining trade blocks by 2024.

He also shook hands with Chinese Leader Xi Jinping in San Francisco a few days later, but did not reveal whether he raised the incident with Mr. Xi.

The sonar attack was kept in the dark for four days before the government released a statement denouncing the “unsafe and unprofessional conduct.”

Australian Economy ‘Excelled’ In the Face of Economic Sanctions

While Labor has emphasised stabilising trade relations with Beijing, Ms. Chandler said it needs to remember that “our economy and major industries actually excelled in demonstrating resilience in the face of coercive sanctions.”

After the CCP imposed trade barriers on Australia, it opened up alternative markets for other Asian trading partners and pushed Australian companies to diversify their suppliers, including India, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and Vietnam.

“Japan has recovered ground as a market for Australia’s exports while, for both exports and imports, the rest of Asia—principally South Korea, India, Taiwan, and the ASEAN group—now accounts for a larger share of Australia’s trade than China,” economics writer David Uren said in a commentary on the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) in 2022.

Human Rights Concerns Highlighted

Ms. Chandler also noted that Australia “must be focused on protecting our national interest, keeping our citizens safe, raising human rights concerns, and limiting our exposure to leverage and coercion.”

However, when asked whether the neglect of the persecution of Falun Gong in diplomatic discussions and media coverage should raise concerns, the Liberal senator did not give a specific answer.

Following China’s top envoy Wang Yi’s visit to Australia in March, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong confirmed with the press afterwards that she had “raised Australia’s concerns about human rights, including in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong.”

Ms. Wong, however, had neglected the human rights abuse experienced by Falun Gong practitioners, despite Falun Gong adherents representing the largest persecuted group under the Chinese regime, with the number of victims totalling tens of millions.

Australian media reports on the top Chinese envoy’s trip to Australia have also sidelined the issue. This is in stark contrast with the reporting on other human rights groups including the Tibetans and the Uyghurs, whose protests ahead of Mr. Wang’s visit received widespread coverage.