‘The barbarians aren’t Chinese’: Australia’s foreign relations bill faces local backlash

When the Australian state of Victoria signed up to participate in China’s Belt and Road Initiative in October 2018, state premier Daniel Andrews promised “more trade and more Victorian jobs and an even stronger relationship with China”.

Although Canberra has denied singling out any country, the Australian Foreign Relations Bill is widely understood to be primarily aimed at Beijing and comes as Sino-Australian relations continue a downward spiral that has seen ties sink to their lowest point in decades.

The move marks the culmination of long-simmering tensions between Canberra and subnational authorities over how to handle relations with Beijing, as growing wariness of Communist Party influence at the federal level has bumped up against local enthusiasm for Chinese trade and investment.

“It is about signalling to foreign governments, especially China, that you can’t go behind the federal government’s back to lure state governments into signing deals on issues that are incompatible with the Australian government policy,” said Pradeep Taneja, a lecturer in Chinese politics and international relations at the University of Melbourne. “The [belt and road] is a classic example.”