Former foreign minister Julie Bishop has been at the receiving end of an extraordinary attack from a former colleague after urging calm and considered diplomacy with China.

Liberal senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, who was a junior minister to Ms Bishop, was absolutely scathing.

“Another air-head comment from the ‘couch’. We had six years of ‘Instagram diplomacy’ that ignored CCP skulduggery and ‘debt trap diplomacy’,” she tweeted.

Ms Bishop has advocated more work behind the scenes to persuade China to endorse an independent global inquiry into the handling of the coronavirus.

Ms Fierravanti-Wells has previously called on the Coalition government to lessen Australia’s economic dependence on China and seek compensation for the impact of the coronavirus.

As a permanent member of the [United Nations] Security Council, China “has a unique responsibility as a permanent member to maintain international peace and security, and without a doubt this pandemic is a threat to international security,” Ms Bishop told Nine newspapers.

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https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/politics/australian-politics/2020/05/13/julie-bishop-china-comments/

It's rule 101 in business: be nice to your customers... unless you're a professional satirist.

Scott Morrison insists Australia will stand its ground amid growing tension with China over the coronavirus pandemic.

The Prime Minister has declared China must respect Australia’s values and national interests as the crisis places heavy strain on diplomatic relations.

Australia’s calls for a global inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus have infuriated the Chinese government, which has suspended beef imports from four abattoirs and threatened to slap huge tariffs on Australian barley.

Chinese media has warned that Australian exports could be next in line, including coal and iron ore.

The sectors have helped drive monthly trade surpluses and cushioned the impact of the coronavirus on the Australian economy.

Former Prime Minister Julia Gillard has also backed calls for an investigation into the origins of the pandemic but says it should not be about pointing fingers.

Mr Morrison said his push for an independent inquiry was “completely unremarkable” and Australia would stand its ground.

“We draw very clear lines about things that are very important to us, as does the Chinese government,” he told reporters in Canberra on Friday.

“We respect their lines, as we expect our lines to be respected, whether it’s on our foreign investment rules, or our rules around technology, our rules regarding human rights and things of that nature.

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https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/world/2020/05/15/china-scott-morrison-values/

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Never mind the clumsy and potentially expensive lack of diplomacy in Australia’s coronavirus international inquiry call.

We could do with an investigation into whether our push was the result of a conspiracy or, shall we say, a stuff-up.

As usual with such blunders, the odds favour the stuff-up.

Many cool heads have observed that the way to achieve an effective international post-mortem on COVID-19 would have been to approach it behind closed doors in a spirit of co-operation, not by being seen to act as Donald Trump’s surrogate when the erratic US President and his myrmidons had been working hard to insult and bait China.

Given Mr Trump’s constant baiting of “Chinah” and efforts to deflect blame for his administration’s ongoing monumental failures in dealing with the crisis, it was not a good look.

Those searching for a Trump-Morrison conspiracy have material to work with.

From an American perspective, what other loyal ally could Mr Trump call on to poke the mighty dragon? The sane Europeans are collectively over the toddler president.

And Scott Morrison has form when it comes to jumping on Mr Trump’s China-bashing bandwagon.

During his October “best maaaates” US tour, Mr Morrison needlessly parroted Mr Trump’s ignorant attack on China’s “developing nation” status.

There was no upside in that for Australia, only downside in adding to our deteriorating relationship with our most important economic partner.

It was just one of several cases that raise the question of whether Mr Morrison goes beyond the usual Australian Prime Ministerial sycophancy with the US into the realm of being a Trump true believer, a MAGA mate.

Unsurprisingly, Beijing – a place that lives on conspiracies of one sort or another – was quick to think the worst, accusing Australia of being Mr Trump’s mouthpiece.

It wasn’t helped by the US Secretary of State, devoted Sinophobe Mike Pompeo, calling on the world to back Mr Morrison’s inquiry call.

That’s the Pompeo who, with Trump and Fox News and the Daily Telegraph, keeps suggesting the virus came from a Chinese laboratory in Wuhan.

It’s also the same Pompeo, a former head of the CIA, who has boasted the agency lies, cheats and steals.

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https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2020/05/15/morrison-dutton-coro...

Whether the virus came from here or there, there is a need for cooperation and more tree hugging than grandstanding like in:

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http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202005/18/WS5ec1ca36a310a8b2411564bf.html

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Australia's barley farmers have found themselves in the middle of a global feud this week, with rising trade tensions flaring against the backdrop of a likely international inquiry into the origins of COVID-19.

The conflict came to a head late last night, with the Chinese Government announcing it would press ahead with its threat to impose an 80 per cent tariff on Australian barley — effectively blocking Australian farmers from selling their crops to their most lucrative market.

The decision could cost Australian farmers hundreds of millions of dollars and is being vehemently opposed by the Australian Government.

Here's what you need to know.

China has actually introduced two tariffs on the import of Australian barley — the first is a hefty 73.6 per cent, because it claims Australia sold barley into China for cheaper than it cost to grow it, also known as "dumping" it.

The other 6.9 per cent tariff is because China claims Australian farmers are subsidised by the Australian Government to grow their crops.

The introduction of the tariffs, effective from Tuesday, follows an 18-month investigation into claims Australia dumped barley in China over a number of years.

Read more:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-19/barley-china-australia-tariffs-trade-dispute-explained/12263298

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China has issued a travel warning to its citizens, advising them against travel to Australia in the wake of what it says is increased racism following the coronavirus outbreak.

This story will be updated throughout Saturday.

• China tells citizens to avoid Australia
• India reports another spike in cases as the country eases its strict lockdown
• Medical waste from coronavirus epidemic worries Spaniards
• Japan aims to have coronavirus vaccines in use by June 2021
• WHO warns COVID-19 not close to ending

The Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism has issued a travel alert to its citizens warning them not to travel to Australia due to a "significant increase" in racist attacks on "Chinese and Asian people".

The statement issued on Friday (local time) says the alleged attacks came in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.

"Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, racial discrimination and violence against Chinese and Asian people in Australia have seen a significant increase," the statement said.

"The Ministry of Culture and Tourism reminds Chinese tourists to enhance their safety awareness and do not travel to Australia."

The warning came after China's state-run tabloid Global Times published an editorial warning Chinese students "be cautious about studying in Australia".

There have been anecdotal reports of people of Asian appearance experiencing increased racism in the wake of COVID-19.

Read more:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-06/coronavirus-update-sat-june-6--china-australia-racism-india/12327554

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Meanwhile:

Can the Western world’s oldest Chinatowns survive COVID-19?

They’ve been a part of Australia for more than 100 years. A pandemic has slowed them down, but those at their heart believe they can recover. They’ve done it before.

阅读中文版本

Read more: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-06/coronavirus-covid19-chinatown-pandemic/12307584?nw=0

Trade and Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham has labelled China's warning against its citizens visiting Australia "unhelpful", as Chinese state media said the warning was issued in response to Australia's "anti-China" policies.

Key points:

• There have been a number of high-profile racist incidents in Australia targeting Asians during the coronavirus pandemic
• Nevertheless, analysts say that China's travel warning is the latest attempt to pressure Australia into cooperation
• Incidents of xenophobia and harassment of foreigners have also been recorded in China during COVID-19

Senator Birmingham told RN this morning that he accepted Asian-Australians had faced incidents of racism since the COVID-19 pandemic began, but rejected the idea that Australia was unsafe for foreign tourists.

On Saturday, the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued an alert warning against travel to Australia, citing a "significant increase" in racist attacks on "Chinese and Asian people".

"Australia's a country where our leaders and our communities condemn racism and where we have very clear processes in place if violent attacks occur for people to report them," Senator Birmingham said.

"But I think the idea that Australia, in any way, is an unsafe destination for visitors to come to is one that just does not stand up to scrutiny."

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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-08/china-coronavirus-travel-ban-australia-diplomatic-row/12332016

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Political advisers should continue to pool their wisdom and build consensus to contribute to China's poverty relief work, the country's top political adviser said on Wednesday.

Wang Yang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the country's top political advisory body, was speaking after a three-day meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th CPPCC National Committee in Beijing.

He called for institutionalized practices formed during the CPPCC's long-term poverty alleviation efforts to be summarized.

The theme of the meeting was winning the battle against poverty and establishing a long-term mechanism to address relative poverty. It was the fifth consecutive year that the CPPCC National Committee made poverty alleviation a consultation topic.

Wang said the meeting was held at an important moment, with the country entering the final stage of the fight against poverty. That allowed the CPPCC to give full play to its institutional advantages and serve the overall interests of the central leadership.

Applauding political advisers' consultations and suggestions during the meeting, Wang said, "Stronger confidence is needed in reaching the goal and harder work should be done to ensure quality."

Pragmatic and effective institutional guarantees and long-term mechanisms are needed to consolidate the achievements of poverty relief work, he added.

Political adviser Chen Lei said a transitional period should be set up for areas lifted out of absolute poverty according to local conditions, during which supporting policies should be maintained.

A mechanism is also needed to monitor those most at risk of sliding back into poverty due to the COVID-19 pandemic, disasters and other illnesses, and assistance needs to be provided to them in a timely manner, Chen said.

The country should strengthen "top-level design" to tackle relative poverty, including establishing a system to identify, assist and evaluate relative poverty, and carry out pilot projects, he said.

Chen said villages and people lifted out of poverty could be included in the country's rural revitalization strategy to consolidate poverty relief achievements.

Xie Ru, another political adviser, said the country should handle the relationship between the roles of government and the market correctly when providing supporting measures in the building of a long-term mechanism to target relative poverty.

The allocation of resources should move from being administered by government to greater reliance on the market, she said.

Provincial-level political advisers and grassroots representatives from the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, Chongqing and Sichuan province attended the discussions via video link, along with CPPCC National Committee members from Hong Kong and Macao.

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http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202006/25/WS5ef3e4c4a310834817255407.html

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