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Western Australia premier tells off PM - demands China 'reset'
来源：Shipping News Headlines 编辑：编辑部 发布：2021/06/17 14:25:45
LABOR Party Premier Mark McGowan of Western Australia, the country's biggest exporting state, has urged Australia's Liberal Party Prime Minister Scott Morrison to stop antagonising China, Reuters reports.
"This isn't about kowtowing to other countries and giving in," said Mr McGowan. "There needs to be a national reset in that relationship. How is it in our interests to be reckless with trading relationships that fund and drive our prosperity and our nation forward?" he said.
Prime Minister Morrison, with support from the US, the UK and Europe, has demanded that China submit to and open inquiry into the causes of the Covid crisis, which has brought retaliation against Australian exports from barley and coal to lobster and wine.
Ties with China worsened last year when Australia called for an independent investigation into the origins of the novel coronavirus, which sparked reprisals.
Relations had already soured after Australia banned Chinese tech giant Huawei from the country's 5G network in 2018.
Mr McGowan's comments came two days after Group of Seven leaders meeting in Britain chided China over a wide range of issues, sparking an angry response from Beijing.
Western Australia's top exports, iron ore and liquefied natural gas (LNG), have so far escaped China's reprisals, with China heavily dependent on Australia's iron ore for its steel industry and increasingly reliant on gas for power generation as it looks to cut emissions from coal.
Western Australia exported A$104 billion (US$80 billion) worth of goods to China in 2020, making up 71 per cent of Australia's goods exports to China.
"This isn't about kowtowing to other countries and giving in," said Mr McGowan. "There needs to be a national reset in that relationship. How is it in our interests to be reckless with trading relationships that fund and drive our prosperity and our nation forward?" he said.
Prime Minister Morrison, with support from the US, the UK and Europe, has demanded that China submit to and open inquiry into the causes of the Covid crisis, which has brought retaliation against Australian exports from barley and coal to lobster and wine.
Ties with China worsened last year when Australia called for an independent investigation into the origins of the novel coronavirus, which sparked reprisals.
Relations had already soured after Australia banned Chinese tech giant Huawei from the country's 5G network in 2018.
Mr McGowan's comments came two days after Group of Seven leaders meeting in Britain chided China over a wide range of issues, sparking an angry response from Beijing.
Western Australia's top exports, iron ore and liquefied natural gas (LNG), have so far escaped China's reprisals, with China heavily dependent on Australia's iron ore for its steel industry and increasingly reliant on gas for power generation as it looks to cut emissions from coal.
Western Australia exported A$104 billion (US$80 billion) worth of goods to China in 2020, making up 71 per cent of Australia's goods exports to China.