Basically, Australia has been doing this to China for the past six years. China only started retaliating once Australia started burning all the diplomatic bridges. China’s saying, ‘you can fuck around in trade, or in diplomacy, but not in both’.
It’s also worth noting what the ‘coercion’ is over: all matters relating to China. It’s not like China’s demanding Australia implement austerity measures, or sell off state assets. It’s regarding discrimination against Chinese investment and diplomatic stances against China’s internal affairs. To the working class, these matters aren’t at all relevant. So what if Huawei is allowed to compete against the likes of Ericsson to build 5G? So what if Australia doesn’t take stances on China’s internal affairs?
Here’s a decent article.
Basically, Australia has been doing this to China for the past six years. China only started retaliating once Australia started burning all the diplomatic bridges. China’s saying, ‘you can fuck around in trade, or in diplomacy, but not in both’.
It’s also worth noting what the ‘coercion’ is over: all matters relating to China. It’s not like China’s demanding Australia implement austerity measures, or sell off state assets. It’s regarding discrimination against Chinese investment and diplomatic stances against China’s internal affairs. To the working class, these matters aren’t at all relevant. So what if Huawei is allowed to compete against the likes of Ericsson to build 5G? So what if Australia doesn’t take stances on China’s internal affairs?