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Associated Press

A top Australian diplomat told a Senate committee Thursday that the bilateral relationship with China was going through “complex and difficult issues”, but rejected a media report of a diplomatic deep freeze.
Frances Adamson, secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, described The Australian newspaper’s headline: “Cold war: China’s freeze on ties” as “just wrong.”
“We’re going through a period where there are some complex and difficult issues, but we’re working through those,” Adamson told the committee, without elaborating on those issues.
“The embassy is operating as you would expect,” she added, referring to Australia’s diplomatic post in Beijing
Spies and a magic weapon: why are Australia, NZ so suspicious of China?
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop backed the diplomat’s assessment.
“Despite some of the commentary in Australian and Chinese newspapers, we are not experiencing a ‘freeze’ in diplomatic relations with China,” Bishop’s office said in a media statement.
“Australia’s deep diplomatic engagement with China continues as normal,” the statement added.
The Chinese embassy in Australia did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.


The newspaper reported China was putting Australia into a diplomatic deep freeze to pressure Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull over proposed new laws to prevent foreign interference in Australia and naval challenges to Chinese claims of sovereignty over the South China Sea.
China had deferred Adamson’s planned visit to Beijing last year, was stalling ministerial visits and was putting off a range of lower-level exchanges, the newspaper said.
Australia’s anti-China stance is a misguided attempt to cosy up to Trump
Adamson said she had planned to fly to Beijing in November, January and February, but none of the dates she suggested was convenient for the Chinese. She intended to offer a further date for consideration this year.
She said that there was nothing unusual about not having firm dates agreed yet for Turnbull and Bishop to visit Beijing this year.
“Yes, there are differences between us at the moment, that has been evidence from a range of sources,” she said.
“But our relationship continues to function as it should.”

China has recently made two official complaints about Australia with language that has been extraordinarily hostile. Chinese state media has also been caustic about Australia.
China protested in January over an Australian minister’s criticisms that Chinese aid programmes in poor Pacific island countries were creating “white elephants” that threatened economic stability without delivering benefits.
China protested in December against Turnbull’s announcement that Australia will ban foreign interference in its politics – either through espionage or financial donations.
‘We don’t see hostile intent from China’: Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull plays nice with Beijing before visiting US
The move was motivated largely by Russia’s alleged involvement in the 2016 US election and China’s growing influence on the global political landscape.
The Chinese foreign ministry said then that Turnbull’s remarks were prejudiced against China and had poisoned the atmosphere of China-Australia relations.
Other Chinese gripes include Australia’s close military ties with the United States, Australia’s tightening foreign investment rules and Australia’s refusal to ratify an bilateral extradition treaty.
China is Australia’s largest trading partner, and the close bilateral relationship has created tensions in Australia’s relations with the United States, its closest defence ally.
Adamson said both China and Australia continue to benefit from their bilateral relationship.
“It’s been the case no matter who has been in government in Australia that there’ve been occasional periods of tension in our relationship with China – occasional periods where differences are to the fore,” Adamson said.
“But they have never got in the way of us each seeking to pursue a relationship that is of mutual benefit,” she added.


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China-Australia relations

Australia has ‘difficult issues’ with China, but it’s no cold war

China has recently made two official complaints about Australia with language that has been extraordinarily hostile. File photo: EPA

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull visits the Ancient Observatory in Beijing on Friday, April 15, 2016. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Australia’s anti-China stance is a misguided attempt to cosy up to Trump

Many Australians would like a return to a national-interest-based policy of engagement with China. Is Malcolm Turnbull happy with the impression Australia is the only US ally enlisted for a cold war? Illustration: Craig Stephens

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, center, walks with Australia's Defense Minister Marise Payne, right, to inspect an honor guard as part of the 2017 Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) meetings at the Australian Army's Victoria Barracks in Sydney, Monday, June 5, 2017. (David Gray/Pool via AP)

New Zealand investigates claims of Chinese link to break-ins at academic’s office and home

New Zealand authorities are investigating claims of Chinese links to break-ins at the office and home of University of Canterbury academic Anne-Marie Brady. Photo: Alamy

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announcing an increase in paid parental leave to 26 weeks by 2020 during her post-Cabinet press conference at Parliament, Wellington. 6 November 2017 New Zealand Herald Photograph by Mark Mitchell

University of Canterbury professor Anne-Marie Brady Sourced 29th September 2017 NZH 21Sep17 - Anne-Marie Brady says emphasis on NZ-China ties has "accelerated" under the current government.

‘We don’t see hostile intent from China’: Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull plays nice with Beijing before visiting US

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull waves as he boards a plane in Sydney bound for the US, where he will meet President Donald Trump. Photo: EPA

This handout photo released by the APEC 2017 National Committee and taken on November 11, 2017 shows Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (R) taking a selfie with Vietnam's President Tran Dai Quang (L), US President Donald Trump (2nd L) and China's President Xi Jinping as they attend the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, part of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders' summit in the central Vietnamese city of Danang. World leaders and senior business figures gathered in the Vietnamese city of Danang this week for the annual 21-member APEC summit. / AFP PHOTO / APEC 2017 National Committee / Handout / --- EDITORS NOTE --- RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / APEC 2017 National Committee" - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - NO ARCHIVES

Spies and a magic weapon: why are Australia, NZ so suspicious of China?

New Zealand MP Yang Jian: taught English to Chinese spies. Photo: AP

(170903) -- XIAMEN, Sept. 3, 2017 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the BRICS Business Forum in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province, Sept. 3, 2017. (Xinhua/Ju Peng) (wyl)

epa06028858 China's ambassador to Australia Cheng Jingye attends an Australia-China Business Council event in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia, 15 June 2017. EPA/MICK TSIKAS AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT

Australian Labor Party's Senator Sam Dastyari speaks to the media in Sydney on September 6, 2016, to make a public apology after asking a company with links to the Chinese Government to pay a 1,273 USD bill incurred by his office. Dastyari told reporters he made a mistake, but had not been asked to resign and would not tender his resignation. / AFP PHOTO / WILLIAM WEST

Parliament House in Canberra. Photo: EPA

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Australian diplomat responds to report that China was putting Australia into a diplomatic deep freeze to pressure Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull over proposed new laws to prevent foreign interference
