US says Australia bearing brunt of China’s ‘coercive’ behaviour

Washington expressed solidarity with Canberra after the US ally angered Beijing by pulling Victoria state’s participation in China’s Belt and Road Initiative

The State Department said Australia has ‘borne a tremendous toll’ from actions by China

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Relations between Australia and China have sunk to new lows in recent months. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 9:09am, 23 Apr 2021Updated: 9:09am, 23 Apr 2021

The United States voiced solidarity on Thursday with Australia, saying it suffered from China’s “coercive” diplomacy, after Canberra angered Beijing by scrapping a major infrastructure deal.

State Department spokesman Ned Price said that Australia makes its own decisions but that the country has “borne a tremendous toll” from actions by Beijing.

“We continue to stand with the people of Australia as they bear the brunt of the PRC’s coercive behaviour,” he told reporters, referring to the People’s Republic of China.

Australia’s federal government on Wednesday pulled Victoria state’s participation in China’s massive infrastructure-building Belt and Road Initiative, a signature project of President Xi Jinping to expand influence.

Australia said that the deal was inconsistent with the country’s foreign policy, prompting Beijing to warn of “serious harm” to relations.

In a shift in tone from the hawkish campaigns of former leader Donald Trump, whose administration spoke in cold war terms of rallying allies against China, President Joe Biden’s administration declined to comment directly on Australia’s decision.

Price said that relations with Australia were about “shared values” and not China.

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