China-Australia relations: what could bring their bilateral battle to an end?

Analysts and diplomats weigh in on how best to bring worsening feud to an amicable conclusion, and historical ties with other countries could offer a blueprint

More diplomacy may be key, but its execution remains a sticking point

Reading Time:7 minutes

Australia and China are locked in a geopolitical dispute that has been intensifying over the past seven months. Photo: Getty Images

Published: 12:00pm, 2 Dec 2020Updated: 2:50pm, 2 Dec 2020

A positive exchange between China and Australia last week sparked hope that their frosty relationship could be starting to thaw, as Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison commended China for lifting its citizens out of poverty and China acknowledged the recognition.

But that optimism quickly disappeared after China imposed provisional anti-dumping duties of up to 212.1 per cent on Australian wine late last week – a figure higher than the percentage originally recommended by the complainant, the Wine Industry Association of China, at the start of the government’s investigation in August. And this week, Australia raged over China’s tweet about “war crimes” committed by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan.

China and Australia have been locked in a heightened geopolitical dispute since April after Australia called for an international inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus, which some ex-diplomats saw as an anti-China push. Since that inflection, ideas by pundits on how to ease tensions have been rooted in one common theme: more diplomacy.

But what kind of diplomacy should the two employ when both parties are not on speaking terms, and who should take the first step when both sides are denying the “ball is in their court”?

As a starting point, experts point to Japan, South Korea and Asean countries as models of best practice in diplomacy with China.

Japan’s success in dealing with China lies with its ethos to not lose sight of the fact that China is an important trading partner, and by not engaging in firm criticism of China, professor of international relations at the University of Tokyo Kawashima Shin said in an essay for the Nippon Communications Foundation after new Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga took office in September.

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