London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Jul 14, 2025

"Won't Be Bullied": Australia To China After Scrapping Belt And Road Deal

"Won't Be Bullied": Australia To China After Scrapping Belt And Road Deal

The federal government pulled the deal with Victoria state late Wednesday in a move justified by the defence minister as necessary to prevent Australia hosting a giant infrastructure scheme "used for propaganda".

China on Thursday said Australia's sudden scrapping of a Belt and Road Initiative deal risked "serious harm" to relations and warned of retaliatory actions, but Canberra insisted it would not be bullied.

The federal government pulled the deal with Victoria state late Wednesday in a move justified by the defence minister as necessary to prevent Australia hosting a giant infrastructure scheme "used for propaganda".

Australia overruled the state's decision to join the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) -- the flagship of President Xi Jinping's geostrategic vision for the Asia-Pacific region -- by saying the agreement was inconsistent with Australia's foreign policy.

As relations nosedive -- following spats over the origins of the coronavirus and Canberra's blocking of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei -- Defence Minister Peter Dutton said Canberra was "worried" about local governments entering into such agreements with Beijing.

"We can't allow these sort of compacts... to pop up because they're used for propaganda reasons and we're just not going to allow that to happen," he told local radio.

Dutton said the government's problem was not with the Chinese people but rather "the values or virtues or the outlook of the Chinese Communist Party".

Australia last year enacted new powers -- widely seen as targeting China -- that allow it to scrap any agreements between state authorities and foreign countries deemed to threaten the national interest.

Canberra's first target was the BRI, a vast network of investments that critics say is cover for Beijing to create geopolitical and financial leverage.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the decision "followed through" on his government's pledge to ensure Australia had a consistent foreign policy which strives for a "world that seeks a balance in favour of freedom".

The schism between Australia and its largest export market widened on Thursday as Beijing railed at the abrupt cancellation and warned it would damage trust between the two countries.

The move "has poisoned mutual trust... and seriously harms China-Australia relations", said foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin at a briefing in Beijing.

"China reserves the right to take further action in response to this."

Earlier, Dutton said he would be "very disappointed" if China retaliated but retorted that Australia "won't be bullied by anyone".

"We are going to stand up for what we believe in and that's exactly what we've done here," he said.

"Fraying relations"


The BRI is the showpiece of Xi's vision for Asia, a lattice of ports, train tracks, economic zones and other infrastructure investments to tether the continent and beyond tighter into China's commercial orbit.

It was unclear if the Victoria state deal had "any projects that were in the pipeline or whether any investments had been pledged", Peter Cai, a specialist on Australia-China relations at the Lowy Institute, told AFP.

But Canberra's bold move is an indicator "of how fraying foreign relations or political instability can affect China's global infrastructure push", he said.

China has already slapped tariffs on more than a dozen Australian industries, including wine, barley and coal, in what many see as punishment for Canberra's increasingly assertive stance against its largest trading partner.

Australia infuriated China by calling for an independent probe into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, banning controversial telecoms giant Huawei from building Australia's 5G network and tightening foreign investment laws for corporations.

Other agreements between foreign powers and local governments are still under consideration, and Canberra could yet target the presence of Chinese government-backed Confucius Institutes at Australia's public universities.

Critics say the institutes, which have been the subject of controversy on some campuses, promote the Communist Party's self-serving version of Chinese culture and history.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
From Mystery to Meltdown, Crisis Within the Trump Administration: Epstein Files Ignite A Deepening Rift at the Highest Levels of Government Reveals Chaos, Leaks, and Growing MAGA Backlash
Trump Slams Putin Over War Death Toll, Teases Major Russia Announcement
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
A 92-year-old woman, who felt she doesn't belong in a nursing home, escaped the death-camp by climbing a gate nearly 8 ft tall
French Journalist Acquitted in Controversial Case Involving Brigitte Macron
Elon Musk’s xAI Targets $200 Billion Valuation in New Fundraising Round
Kraft Heinz Considers Splitting Off Grocery Division Amid Strategic Review
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
EU Proposes New Tax on Large Companies to Boost Budget
Trump Imposes 35% Tariffs on Canadian Imports Amid Trade Tensions
Junior Doctors in the UK Prepare for Five-Day Strike Over Pay Disputes
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Biden’s Doctor Pleads the Fifth to Avoid Self-Incrimination on President’s Medical Fitness
Grok Chatbot Faces International Backlash for Antisemitic Content
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
×