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China’s murky role in the genesis and spread of the novel coronavirus has disturbed the entire world. Its attempts to
economically coerce Australia into its geopolitical orbit should disturb the world even more.
Australia is one of the United States’ staunchest allies. It was saved from Japanese invasion in World War II by the U.S. victory in the
Battle of Coral Sea and has stood side by side with America ever since. Australian troops, known as “
diggers” Down Under, have fought in every major U.S. military engagement thereafter, including the
Korean and
Vietnam wars,
both wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan. Australia and the United States are also bound to one another by a
mutual defense treaty and a
free trade agreement.
China nonetheless wields significant economic influence on our ally. Australia is a fount of metal and other raw materials that has prospered greatly by selling those products to its massive neighbor. More than a
third of its annual exports go to China, eclipsing what is sent to the United States, Japan and South Korea combined. Chinese travelers made more than 1.4 million visits to Australia in 2018,
contributing 27 percent of the money tourists spent there in the 12 months ending November 2019. And more than
100,000 Chinese students are enrolled in Australian universities, providing those i
This makes recent Chinese actions highly threatening to the U.S.-Australian relationship. The Communist government has halted Australian beef imports in response to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s call for an international investigation into the origins of covid-19 in China. Chinese officials have gone further, with its ambassador to Australia implying there might be a
student boycott of the country’s universities. Beijing has also
threatened to impose tariffs on Australian barley and reduce tourist travel after the pandemic subsides. The message is clear: If a country takes Chinese money, it must toe China’s line.
China has tried the same tactics against U.S. businesses. Its attempt to
coerce the National Basketball Association into preventing its players, employees and fans from criticizing China’s actions in Xinjiang province and Hong Kong attracted national attention. It has also pushed Hollywood into
censoring the movies it shows in China and regularly uses its economic partnerships with U.S. companies to lobby against President Trump’s trade war. It has even
censored a public statement by the European Union’s ambassador to China. Chinese money might appear to come from its private sector, but that sector always seems to behave exactly as the government wants it to.
This means the United States and its allies have a hard decision to make. The more China’s economy grows, the more economic power its government can wield. It’s clear that Beijing is increasingly emboldened to use that power to force obedience to its dictates. Those dictates are not, and will not, be friendly to Western freedoms and democracy.
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A slow but steady decoupling of Western companies from China could limit Beijing’s power, but this will be difficult in the pandemic’s aftermath. China’s foreign reserves make it a tempting partner to countries looking to mitigate debt burdens while its markets offer tempting opportunities for growth. Taking the bait will only increase China’s already malign influence on Western mores and culture.
Western leaders should look to bring manufacturing and investment back home or to other, more politically similar countries. The United States can encourage more investment in Mexico or Canada. Europe can invest in its Eastern European neighbors. Asian manufacturers can turn to Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia or even Vietnam. India also offers an appealing destination for companies that seek low-cost labor or high-quality English-speaking professional talent. The change cannot happen overnight, but it must happen if China’s rising influence is to be curtailed.
There are encouraging signs that it might happen. Politicians in the United States, Britain and Australia are already calling for such moves. European leaders are generally more cautious, but they still resist attempts by the Chinese telecommunications company Huawei to build those nations’ 5G networks. Public opinion in the West is also generally negative toward China. The Pew Research Center
found in late 2019 that residents of most U.S. allies viewed China negatively, and a recent
poll of Germans found more than 70 percent believed China bore at least some blame for covid-19’s spread and one-third wanted to reduce ties between the two nations.
Chinese emperors used to force envoys from neighboring states to recognize their total superiority by use of the
kowtow — abjectly prostrating oneself on the floor before the emperor and his officials. It also forced those nations to acknowledge China as “the
Middle Kingdom,” i.e., the center of the world. Communist China’s actions to suppress international criticism is just the first step toward a resumption of that despotic ritual. The United States and the West need to stand proudly on their feet and resist.