Foreign affairs

By Elena Collinson and James Laurenceson

By James Laurenceson

Note: This article appeared in the Australian Institute of International Affairs’ blog, Australian Outlook, on February 28 2020.

Note: ‘Australia-China: a series of reflections’ was originally published in December 2019 as the Pearls and Irritations China Series. Pearls and Irritations is a public policy blog founded and managed by John Menadue AO, who has had a distinguished career in the private sector and in the Australian Public Service.

Preface

By James Laurenceson

Note: This article appeared in the print edition of The Australian Financial Review on February 20 2020.

In the debate about how Australia should manage China relations, whose side are you on? Washington’s or Beijing’s? This, in essence, is the way that many contributions, involving commentary, research and events, quickly get framed.

By James Laurenceson

Introduction

The rampant spread of the COVID-19 virus has caused alarm not only in terms of the health consequences but potential economic impact. This UTS:ACRI brief investigates these developments to date.

The time profile of the COVID-19 shock

As the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has transformed, so too has the environment for foreign correspondents operating in-country. And as controls on information availability tighten and censorship increases, reporting by foreign journalists becomes more challenging – and more important. 

By Elena Collinson and James Laurenceson

Note: This article appeared in Network 10’s 10 daily on February 10 2020.

By Geoff Raby

Civil emergencies have marked the start of the New Year for both Canberra and Beijing. Each in its own way is likely to have some implications for foreign policy and how the bilateral relationship is managed.

The challenge for both sides in 2020 is whether some concrete progress will be made back towards a more normal relationship. At the start of the year, the prospects are not encouraging.

This edition features:

- Summary and analysis of major developments December 20 2019 – January 2020 by Elena Collinson and James Laurenceson.
- Perspectives: ‘Australia-China: The year ahead’ by Dr Geoff Raby AO.  Perspectives is UTS:ACRI's new bimonthly commentary series, featuring a piece on a topical subject in the Australia-China relationship from an invited expert contributor. 

SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS OF MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS DECEMBER 20 2019 - JANUARY 2020 

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.