Australia won't capitulate to China's conditions to resume bilateral talks: FM Payne

Australia will not capitulate to China's demands to change policy in order to restart bilateral talks, the country’s foreign minister Marise Payne said on August 6. Even with Beijing-Canberra ties hitting rock bottom, the leader asserted that the pacific island was not ready to accept any conditions put forward by the Asian giant. “We've been advised by China that they will only engage in high-level dialogue if we meet certain conditions. Australia places no conditions on dialogue. We can't meet (their) conditions now," Payne said in a speech. 

Australia is not 'anti-china'

However, she also clarified that it did not mean that the country was “Anti-China” and added that their relationship was “inevitably changing”. “Where we do raise certain behaviors or challenges to long-agreed rules, that does not mean we are anti-China or anti any other country,” she said. Last year, Australia's Scott Morrison administration joined the western call for an investigation into the origins of COVID-19. In retaliation, the Xi Jinping administration imposed tariffs on several Australian goods, including wine and barley, and limited imports of Australian beef, coal, and grapes. Australia dismissed the matter saying that it did not want a trade war with China, its largest trade partner. However, China continued the imposition of bans and halted the import of beef and other items.

Australia also attracted the ire of the Chinese Communist Party after the former issued a statement saying that it categorically rejects all maritime claims by China that are 'inconsistent with the 1982 UNCLOS. While China claimed rights over the South China sea, Australia rejected it asserting that there was no legal basis behind the claim.

China had recently said Australia should know what it needs to do to improve the relationship, adding Beijing has always upheld a pragmatic attitude when it comes to dealing with its trade partners. The Chinese side also defended its measures against Australian products, saying more than 10 Chinese investments have been rejected by Canberra citing "ambiguous and unfounded national security concerns". 

Image: AP