Unlike his state counterparts, newly elected New South Wales (NSW) Labor leader Chris Minns will not be jetting off to China in the immediate future.
“I’m not going to China. There’s enough on my plate right here in NSW,” he told 2GB radio on April 6. “Cost of living is going through the roof, inflation is running between seven and eight percent, and there’s a crisis in our schools and hospitals. There’s plenty on my plate right here.”
“I wasn’t elected ... to do those trips. My responsibility is right here. We’ve got an enormous amount of domestic challenges facing the people of NSW and the economy.
“That’s the absolute priority for this government. We’ve got our feet under the desk, we’ve got to hit the ground running, and that doesn’t include jumping on a plane and heading off overseas.”
Last year, Minns faced pressure over a 2015 trip to China funded by controversial political donor Huang Xiangmo, connected to Beijing’s United Front Work Department, the Chinese Communist Party’s leading organisation for overseas influence and infiltration.
Minns’ 2015 excursion took place not long after Huang personally delivered a $100,000 cash donation stashed in an Aldi supermarket bag to the Labor Party’s NSW headquarters in Sydney.
In 2019, the suspicious donation become the focus of an official state Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) inquiry. Huang’s visa to Australia would later be revoked by federal authorities.
Labor Leaders Line Up for China Visits
Minns’ comments as three Labor state leaders conclude or plan trips to China this year.Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has faced criticism for a secretive four-day trip to China to which no media was invited.
“Trade missions are vital, but secretive ones are not. Victorians deserve to know why journalists, industry leaders, and trade experts were all excluded from this trip,” said Victoria’s opposition leader John Pesutto said, in a statement.
“So far, all the premier has to show for his trip is the establishment of three working groups.”
Andrews was also criticised for meeting with the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, which was accused by former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of “co-opting subnational governments” to directly and “malignly influence state and local leaders.”
Meanwhile, Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan will be visiting China from April 17 to support “mutually beneficial exchanges in trade and investment.”
China is the state’s largest trade partner by far.
While Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk earmarked a visit around November.
The moves have been backed by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
“It’s about jobs, and it’s about them looking after their state,” he said.
Since the federal Labor government won office in May 2022, the focus of Canberra and Beijing has been on “normalising” bilateral relations.
The previous Liberal-National Coalition governments were responsible for a range of initiatives aimed at pushing back against the Chinese Communist Party, including rolling out foreign interference laws, cancelling Huawei’s participation in its 5G network, calling for a global investigation into COVID-19’s origins, and kickstarting AUKUS.
The current federal Labor government is now trying to walk the tightrope between protecting Australia’s national interest and building trade relations with Beijing.
