ABC News Item, 1 October 2021 …. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-01/perth-china-mcgowan-consul-general-forrest-trade-aukus-business/100502212
Key points:
- Tensions between China and Australia rated little mention at an event in Perth
- The WA Premier said eastern states fail to appreciate China’s importance
- The Chinese Consul General in Perth considers the bilateral relationship strongP
While political tensions between Beijing and Canberra were largely left aside, WA Premier Mark McGowan used an event with the state’s top Chinese diplomat to lament the eastern states’ failure to acknowledge China’s contribution to Australia’s economic success. Neither Mark McGowan nor Consul General Long Dingbin made mention of their nations’ ongoing trade war, the AUKUS deal and the nuclear submarines that come with it, or the fact Australian Federal Ministers cannot get their Chinese counterparts to pick up the phone.
As guests of honour, alongside mining magnate Andrew Forrest, they both highlighted the strong relationship WA had with China at the China Australia Business Council event to celebrate the 72nd Chinese National Day.
WA ‘supported the nation’
During his speech, Mr McGowan suggested Australia’s eastern states failed to realise the importance of Australia’s relationship with China. “It has been a large part of the economic success and the cultural success of our state and our country for 50 years, and in particular over the last two years,” he said. “Where would the country have been, but for our strong economic performance here in Western Australia? And I think that perhaps that needs to be better appreciated in the eastern states of Australia.”
Mr McGowan said WA had supported the nation during the COVID-19 pandemic by keeping open industries which export to China. “A large amount of our exports do go to China, in fact the majority, and we are the nation’s biggest exporting state” he said. “For other states that don’t export much, they don’t really get that.”
WA Premier Mark McGowan speaking with Fortescue chairman, Andrew Forrest. — ABC News: James Carmody
He told the audience income generated by WA during the pandemic was going towards helping other states battle outbreaks and lockdowns.
Consul General lauds McGowan leadership
WA’s new China Consul General had praise for the Premier and a positive assessment of the Chinese Australian relationship.”It has been nearly six months since my arrival in Perth in April and I am so glad to see that with the strong leadership of Premier McGowan’s government the pandemic has been brought under control,” Consul General Long said. “And I am very glad to see that we are having a strong relationship between China and Australia.”
Perth Chinese Consul General Long Dingbin shakes hands with Andrew Forrest. —ABC News: James Carmody
Consul General Long said China and Australia should look towards celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two nations in 2022. “I think all of us should do something for the 50th anniversary,” he said. “Let’s join hands together with endless effort for a smooth and healthy development of the China Australia relationship, which is beneficial for both of us, as well as the Asia Pacific region.”
Tensions are a business concern
The hosts of the event acknowledged the two nations’ diplomatic tensions more overtly. David Sun, from the China Chamber of Commerce in Australia, quipped that the heightened tensions made as little sense to him as the COVID-19 driven panic buying of toilet paper in Australia.
Davin Sun presents Mr McGowan with a gift of WA wine. ABC News: James Carmody
But President of the Australia China Business Council in WA, James Clarke, told the ABC the relationship was a concern for the business sector. “What we call ‘second track diplomacy ties’ are extremely important in a time where the bilateral relationship is where it is at,” he said. “Things might be happening on the surface, there might be political issues, but business is very keen to make sure that those ties remain strong so that the economy keeps on moving, business keeps on moving forward.”
“China is our largest trading partner so we can’t do without it.”
Neither the Premier nor Consul General were available to take questions.
**** ****
Scott Morrison is the biggest fool to ever hold the post of Prime Minister of Australia. The Americans have used him and Australia.
Trump and Biden always have bad words to say about China, but it is all “blah blah blah” while the US continues to enjoy a great trading relationship with China, and Chinese students are still studying in the US in huge numbers, so there is no significant economic loss for America.
The US have sat by and cheered Morrison and his extremely low IQ lunatic government to lead a futile charge against China on behalf of the US at great cost to Australia’s economy and our economic partnership with China. While Australia pays the price (to the delight of the Americans who regard Australians as suckers), the US benefits and pays no price.
Morrison has caused great damage to Australia’s national interests. He has sold Australia’s sovereignty to America. The Australian media have helped him to do it by having absolutely no critical faculty whatsoever to truly assess the great damage Morrison has caused. They simply cheer him on to the finish line by disseminating propaganda dressed up as news to a gullible nation of people who are comforted by their lies.
You don’t have to be a communist to be a good friend of China, and being a good friend of China does not make one a threat to Australia’s national interests. On the contrary, it is an asset to do business with China, as any intelligent Australian knows well, including Premier Mike McGowan. The greatest threat to Australia comes from within the Canberra-Sydney bureaucratic bubble who now regard Australia as the 51st US State. They certainly behave as if that were so. That is what Morrison means when he says the US and Australia have likeminded values. It means we belong to the same US sovereignty.
We need more like Mighty Mike McGowan to thumb noses at Morrison –whose government has sabotaged our economy to satisfy US geopolitical interests. When Morrison says Australia is standing up to China to protect our “values”, he means “US geopolitical values” in which the US gains by continuing to have a great relationship with China, while Australia is the fall guy and spirals downward. Morrison has fallen for the Great US Trap and taken Australia down with it. He is Australia’s greatest political sucker.
If Mike Pompeo was around, he would contact Marise Payne and instruct her to use her powers to rein in Mike McGowan to stop these wonderful meetings with the Chinese Consul in WA which boost WA’s economy,, on the pathetic grounds that is against US national and geopolitical interests. The US want China out of WA, and America in to replace it, but they can never replace China other than with weasel words and token gestures of goodwill.
I suspect the US have already contacted Payne with this demand and expect the Australian media will relentlessly smear McGowan while Payne uses her autocratic dictatorial powers to sabotage WA’s good relationship with China, as the Feds did with Victoria.
As a further example of how Australia has allowed itself to be used by America; Biden and his officials can easily talk to the leaders of China and France with buisness as usual in spite of American language games, but Morrison and his government cannot pick up the phone and talk.to either. That tells you something about how stupid Morrison and his government has been and how he has allowed Australia to be used the US. The Americans must be laughing all the way to the bank…. Australia is doing America’s bidding in a kamikaze style operation.
There are countless examples of how Australians have been sucked into the Great US Trap. The above are just a few instances.
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