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Confucius Institutes at Australian universities could be the next casualty of strained Beijing-Canberra ties
- Australian universities hosting the institutes must submit their agreements for review by the federal government by June 10
- Canberra could veto the universities’ agreements if they are judged to be incompatible with its foreign policy towards China
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When the University of Adelaide launched its Confucius Institute in partnership with Shandong University in 2007, Australia’s foreign minister Alexander Downer oversaw the opening ceremony.
The Chinese cultural centre was not only uncontroversial, it was welcomed across the board, former director Mobo Gao recalled.
“Politicians on both sides, the business community, the education sector and culture sector all collaborated with us and they all liked our programmes,” said Gao, who ran the institute until 2017, helping organise study tours in China and talks by Chinese intellectuals on topics encompassing Tibet and democracy.
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In 2021, the institute and those at 12 other Australian universities face an uncertain future as Canberra considers whether the centres are compatible with a foreign policy increasingly wary of Beijing.
The universities have until June 10 to submit their contracts to host the institutes, as part of a system that enables Canberra to review agreements between foreign governments and subnational bodies such as state governments, councils and universities.
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Under legislation passed last year, foreign minister Marise Payne could block the universities’ agreements to host the institutes if they are judged to undermine the federal government’s policy towards China.
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