The developments came amid deteriorating relations between Canberra and Beijing….reports Asian Lite News
Canberra on Friday gave hints that it will not accept the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) proposal from China unless Beijing removes ‘additional’ tariffs imposed on imports from Australia.
The hints came from Australian Minister for trade and investment Dan Tehan after he said that they want to be confident that China has a “track record of compliance” with its commitments under the World Trade Organisation and existing trade agreements, Kyodo News reported.
The minister also said that the reopening of ministerial-level trade talks is a must before starting any negotiations.
“As we have conveyed to China, these are important matters which require ministerial engagement,” Tehan added.
The developments came amid deteriorating relations between Canberra and Beijing.
Their relations have dipped after the Chinese leadership was incensed with Canberra calling for an independent investigation into the origins of the novel coronavirus.
Relations had started to fray in 2018 when Australia banned Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies from building its 5G network, the first Western country to do so. Canberra has also been locked in an ongoing trade war with Beijing for several months as China has slapped sanctions on various Australian products.
Australia a ‘potential nuclear war target’
A Chinese newspaper that is a mouthpiece of President XI Jinping’s party informed that Australia is now ‘a potential target for a nuclear strike’ after Canberra launched an AUKUS pact with the US and UK to build nuclear-powered submarines.
Chinese newspaper Global Times published an article titled “Nuke sub deal could make Australia potential nuclear war target,” New York Post reported.
The article also said: “Chinese military experts warned that [AUKUS] will potentially make Australia a target of a nuclear strike if a nuclear war breaks out even when Washington said it won’t arm Canberra with nuclear weapons because it’s easy for the US to equip Australia with nuclear weapons and submarine-launched ballistic missiles when Australia has the submarines.”
The developments came after US President Joe Biden agreed to help Australia build nuclear submarines and launch a new three-country military initiative called AUKUS.
During the formation of AUKUS, none of the three governments made any mention of China, the new partnership is widely understood to be an attempt to counter Beijing’s assertiveness in the region, Euronews said.
It plans for deeper diplomatic, security, and defence cooperation between the three capitals with enhanced capabilities and interoperability in cyber, artificial intelligence, and quantum technologies.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US President Joe Biden said in a statement that their partnership is “guided by our enduring ideals and shared commitment to the international rules-based order.” (ANI)