Foreign affairs

Foreign interference, the suspension of a human rights partnership, effectively frozen high-level political contact – and against this backdrop, record levels of bilateral trade. 2019 was another rollercoaster year for the Australia-China relationship, full of complications and contradictions.

Due to the upcoming holiday season the December monthly wrap-up is being released early, covering developments to December 19 2019. The rest of the month will be covered in the January 2020 edition.

By Elena Collinson and James Laurenceson

By James Laurenceson

Note: This article appeared in Pearls and Irritations, a public affairs blog, on December 12 2019.

The Australia-China Relations Institute at the University of Technology Sydney is delighted to launch the Australia-China monthly wrap-up, a concise monthly summary and analysis of major developments in the Australia-China relationship.

By Elena Collinson and James Laurenceson

Around 130 countries have reportedly signed agreements with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in some capacity on engagement with the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) since its launch by President Xi Jinping in 2013. Thirty-seven world leaders were in attendance at Beijing’s second Belt and Road Forum this year, up from 29 last year.

International outrage continues to grow in the face of Beijing’s mass detention, forced indoctrination and vice-like control of its Turkic Muslim population in Xinjiang, with estimates of over a million (about 40 percent of the Xinjiang population) held in internment camps.

By James Laurenceson

Note: This article appeared in The Australian Financial Review on September 25 2019.

Scan the headlines generated by Scott Morrison’s trip to the United States and you could get the impression that the Australian government is increasingly tilting towards supporting Washington in its economic war against Beijing.

By James Laurenceson

Note: This article appeared in The Conversation, on September 18 2019.

In recent years, actions taken by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) affecting the rights of both its own citizenry and foreign nationals have heightened international concerns, including in Australia.

Since 2016 the Australian government has become increasingly vocal about human rights as an issue of concern with the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Recently this has focused on the mass detention and forced indoctrination of the PRC’s Turkic Muslim population in the northwest province of Xinjiang. Prior to 2016, the PRC’s human rights record was primarily confined to closed-door discussions between Australian and PRC government officials.