ACRI Opinion

Note: This is a summary of 'Human Rights in China', Between the Lines, ABC Radio National, July 27 2017.

In light of the death of Nobel laureate and Chinese political dissident Liu Xiaobo, how can the West help promote human rights in China?

By Bob Carr

Note: This article appeared in The Sydney Morning Herald on July 27 2017.

Behind China’s recent 6.9 percent growth in GDP lies a bigger fact: between 2009 and 2030, the country will add 850 million to its middle class. I would call that a killer fact.

By James Laurenceson

Note: This article appeared in Sydney Today (Chinese) on June 16 2017.

Australian media have been in a frenzy this month over allegations that the Chinese government is seeking to undermine Australian sovereignty.

By Bob Carr

Note: This article appeared in The Australian on June 10 2017.

Let’s be clear. Efforts by any country to subvert Australia should be investigated, monitored and brought to light. Yes, let’s ban donations from non-citizens. Let’s go further still — my own suggestion — and ban any donations that might reasonably be suspected as seeking to influence Australian foreign policy.

By Elena Collinson and James Laurenceson

Note: This article appeared in the University of Nottingham's China Policy Institute: Analysis on June 6 2017.

By James Laurenceson

Note: This article appeared in East Asia Forum on June 4 2017.

By Bob Carr

Note: This article appeared in The Sydney Morning Herald on May 23 2017.

It was like a meeting with an Old Testament prophet. Towering and rock-hewn, Malcolm Fraser was grave, telling me – Australia's new foreign minister – that America was capable of being drawn into a land war with China.

'Going to war with China and losing it. And then withdrawing from Asia.'

By James Laurenceson and Elena Collinson

Note: This article appeared in the Lowy Institute for International Policy's blog, The Interpreter, May 22 2017.

A divide has once again opened between Australian economic commentators and defence hawks, this time over China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and what Australia's response to it should be.

By James Laurenceson and Xunpeng Shi

Note: This article appeared in The Diplomat, May 19 2017.

China’s massive Belt and Road Forum wrapped up in Beijing on Tuesday. At its conclusion, Australia’s representative, Trade and Investment Minister Steve Ciobo, issued a guarded statement.

By James Laurenceson

Note: This article appeared in East Asia Forum, May 14 2017.

Australia’s reluctance to participate in China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) harks back to its slow entry into the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). But this time it may be Australian state governments that push the federal government over the line, rather than decisions made by other countries.