Australia withdrew from China-sponsored ‘New Silk Road’, angering Beijing

Australian government Wednesday, vetoed two agreements between China and the Victoria region under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) for “inconsistencies” with the foreign policy of the oceanic country, after which Beijing demanded on Thursday to back down and threatened to respond “harshly”.

According to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin, quoted by local press, the Canberra decision is a “step backwards” that will further deteriorate the broken ties between the two countries. “This is further confirmation that Australia has no sincerity in developing bilateral relations (with China) “, He said.

The Australian government for the first time exercised the power to veto agreements between the country’s courts and foreign nations, claiming it was defending the national interest and that the signing of these agreements to create a “new silk road” involved “inconsistencies” with the foreign policy defined by Canberra.

The agreements in question are memoranda of understanding signed in 2018 and 2019 although, according to the Australian press, they do not commit Victoria regional authorities to carry out specific projects and are not legally binding.

However, China has presented “formal and firm complaints” to the Australian authorities, demanding that they reverse their decision, considering that the agreements between Beijing and the island region are beneficial to both sides.

The BRI, popularly known as the “New Silk Road”, was inaugurated in 2013 by order of Chinese President Xi Jinping and seeks to improve trade links between Asia, Europe, Africa and other regions with the construction of ports, roads and railways, airports and industrial zones. The projects are financed by Chinese investments or loans of millions of dollars. Several Western countries and regional rivals of China viewed the initiative with suspicion, seeing in it Beijing’s interest in increasing its political and economic influence.a.

“The Australian Federal Government, irrationally, he vetoed this cooperation agreement, ”spokesman Wang Wenbin said. “It is an arbitrary interference with normal cooperation. This represents serious damage to Australia-China relations and mutual trust between the two countries“, He added.

“The Chinese side reserves the right to take further action in this regard”, insisted the spokesperson, who denounced that the Australian authorities have reviewed more than 1,000 international agreements and revoked only four, “two of which are linked to China.”

According to the Australian government, the agreements were canceled because they are incompatible with the country’s foreign policy, which advocates a “free and open” Indo-Pacific region.

The increase in tensions between these two countries has led to a trade dispute after Beijing imposed tariffs on several Australian exports to the Asian giant.

A senior official at the Chinese Embassy in Canberra recently blamed the negative situation on the Australian government’s 2018 decision to exclude Chinese telecommunications company Huawei from its fifth generation (5G) networks.

The relationship was further strained when Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison called last year for an international investigation into the origin of the Covid-19 epidemic.

The ocean nation approved a series of laws to block alleged foreign interference in the country’s politics and economy, without directly citing China on suspicion of possible computer attacks against universities and government entities.

With information from AFP, EFE and EuropaPress

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