Foreign affairs

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 monthly 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.

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.