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unfurling the red carpet of "friendship" in a china shop, not to buy nor sell anything...
The prime minister, Tony Abbott, says he wants to accelerate free trade talks with China, but he is in the country to “be a friend”, not to do a deal.
In remarks that are a clear attempt to move past recent frictions in the relationship, and to segue from his warm reception in Japan and South Korea to a round of intense diplomacy in the People’s Republic, he told a major business forum in Boao: “Australia is not in China to do a deal, but to be a friend.
“We don’t just visit because we need to, but because we want to.”
Abbott again emphasised the regional effort to find the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 as an example of practical co-operation overcoming the reflexive “strategic pessimism that sometimes clouds discussions of our region’s future”.
He emphasised Australia’s co-operative disposition. “Australia’s preference is always to look forwards rather than backwards; to win friends rather than to find fault; to be helpful, not difficult.”
With defence collaboration with Japan a point of sensitivity in Beijing, Abbott noted: “We have first-class military forces that regularly operate with the world’s best. Australia is strong enough to be a valuable partner, but not a dominant one.”
Foreign investment is a key point of sensitivity in negotiations about a free trade deal with China. Both sides have signalled they want the trade pact concluded by year’s end.
China is conscious Australia has offered preferential foreign investment regimes to the US, Japan and South Korea through bilateral trade pacts.
It seems logical that Australian negotiators will offer the Chinese a similar screening threshold for foreign direct investment, an increase from $248m to $1.08bn for a private entity.
China wants more scope to invest in Australia, but the situation is complicated politically for Abbott because much of the investment will come through state-owned enterprises, not from the private sector. Because of National party sensitivities, Abbott will also want to preserve curbs on investments in farmland and agribusinesses.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/10/tony-abbott-goes-to-china-to-be-friend-not-chase-deals
As some astute philosopher once said: "a friendly snake in the grass is not as trustworthy as a bird minding its own business in the sky"...
- By Gus Leonisky at 10 Apr 2014 - 5:59pm
- Gus Leonisky's blog
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some of the past unfriendly crap...
This was as late as 6 month ago when Tony was basically telling the Chinese how to such eggs... Now he says:
"...Australia's resources had played a part in lifting Chinese living standards.
"The rest of the world is rightly in awe of the way these countries have lifted hundreds of millions of people into the middle class in just a generation," he said.
"This is the greatest and the quickest advance in human welfare of all time.
"It's happened because governments have allowed individuals and families to take more control of their own futures."I am proud that Australian coal, iron ore, gas and services exports have helped to drive this prosperity."
Mr Abbott said Australia's size meant it had the potential to be a "valuable" partner to China but "not a dominant one".
He highlighted the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which Australia was leading, as an example of what the countries of the region could achieve when they worked together rather than apart.
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Now if you know how to read between the lines, it appears that Tony acts as if all the credit for whatever happened, such as Australia selling iron ore and coal to China was his good work. Moreover, he deviously hints with the subtlety of the proverbial wooly mammoth in a china shop that the Chinese progress is all due to "liberalism" in China... which is a lot of baloney... The Chinese government is cautious about its political reality: It deals with more than one fifth of the entire world population (more than 20 %) while Tony is only Turd-in-Chief of a third of one per cent (who had the good fortune to be loaded with holes to dig), but Tony rolls the shoulders as if he was of equal size... Uh uh... Nupe. The Chinese are much smarter than that.
Something will get lost in translation... including the bit about the plane MH370, to which he somehow manages to be slightly patronising about the search...
grand final diplomacy...
Tony Abbott has compared his free trade negotiations with China with a World Cup final.
Abbott has emphasised thus far during his China visit that he is in the People’s Republic to deepen the friendship, not simply cut a trade deal, but kicking off the Shanghai leg of the trip on Friday, Abbott told business leaders there was “extraordinary potential” in the bilateral free trade pact with Beijing.
“It's a bit like being in the middle of a World Cup grand final – those are the stakes we're playing for,” Abbott said. “We’ve scored two goals, but it will only be a draw if we don't score the third goal.
“That's what we're shooting for – the third goal that will make this a historic win for our country.”
The soccer analogy references the two other trade pacts the Abbott government has tied up this week, one in Japan and the other in South Korea. On the Abbott analogy, finalising the China deal would turn a “draw” into a “win”
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/11/abbott-says-china-trade-pact-would-be-a-historic-win
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That's all we need : a footy hooligan abroad parading as a Primal Minster... Makes me cringe so much my eyes bleed.
he's not the one...
Former prime minister Tony Abbott is set to take a swipe at China, saying the communist nation does not share the same "values" as Australia.
Key points:A draft copy of a speech Mr Abbott is giving in Tokyo tonight says Japan and Australia have a "special relationship because it's not based simply on shared interests, but also on shared values".
In contrast, Mr Abbott's speech says while Australia's "economy is more closely tied to China's than to any other, it's still an 'interests' partnership rather than a 'values' one".
"The challenge for all of us is to work to ensure that China better appreciates the rules based international order that's created the stability that's made China's new prosperity possible," the speech says.
Mr Abbott will also outline his support for further freedom of navigation and military operations in the contested South China Sea.
read more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-26/tony-abbott-lashes-china-for-not-sharing-australia-values/7204258
see: http://www.sbs.com.au/popasia/if-you-are-the-one-australia
I apologise to the world on behalf of ALL the Australian people who, in an all-regretted demented moment under the spell of Uncle Rupe, gave some undeserved kudos in the form of PMship to this now touring grand-standing little shit.
See toon and article at top.