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China-Australia relations

China-Australia relations
Breaking news and analysis on China-Australia relations, including trade and investment and the impact of wider issues such as the US-China trade war and South China Sea.
Open Questions series

Susan Thornton on US-China ties, post-midterms and averting a new balloon crisis

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

Wu Shicun on why Beijing will not rule out Scarborough Shoal construction

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

Zheng Yongnian on what US’ ‘neocolonialism’, Venezuela operation mean for China

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

Liu Qian on Chinese innovation, the US rivalry and women holding up half the sky

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez Garcia

Fuchsia Dunlop tells how she fell for China’s cuisine and names her perfect dish

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

80 years on from WWII, China’s interests lie in peaceful Asia-Pacific: Mitter

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

Susan Thornton on US-China ties, post-midterms and averting a new balloon crisis

videocam
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

Wu Shicun on why Beijing will not rule out Scarborough Shoal construction

videocam
28
Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

Zheng Yongnian on what US’ ‘neocolonialism’, Venezuela operation mean for China

videocam
13
Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

Liu Qian on Chinese innovation, the US rivalry and women holding up half the sky

7
Illustration: Victor Sanjinez Garcia

Fuchsia Dunlop tells how she fell for China’s cuisine and names her perfect dish

videocam
5
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

80 years on from WWII, China’s interests lie in peaceful Asia-Pacific: Mitter

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18
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
MORE FROM THIS SERIES
Royal Australian Navy Chief Vice-Admiral Matthew Buckley speaks to the media alongside Australia’s Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy in front of the Ghost Shark autonomous undersea vehicles in Sydney on October 19, during the unveiling of three new autonomous systems capabilities under AUKUS Pillar II. Photo: AFP
Australia

As I see it | The flaw in Australia’s ‘China threat’ thesis

Instead of adopting Washington’s security priorities, Canberra should leverage superpower rivalry to its own advantage, argues policy veteran John Edwards.

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SCMP Exclusives

Exclusive | Australian PM to visit Beijing after China-hosted Apec summit as tensions simmer

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Chinese culture

Australia returns ancient stone heads to China after more than 30 years

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US-China relations

US, allies and China vie for influence through Pacific security deals

New mapping tool highlights contrasting approaches, with Beijing expanding policing ties as Washington maintains defence pacts.

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A Chinese police officer demonstrates a restraint technique during a training session with Solomon Islands police. Photo: Handout
Australia

Australia commits US$44 million to boost East Timor’s cyber, maritime security

Australia has recently struck defence and economic agreements with Pacific nations designed to limit China’s security role.

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Chinese culture

Australia returns Buddha statue to China amid lasting mystery over its origins

The Ming dynasty artefact was found buried by the roadside in 2018 and no one can say how it came to arrive in the country.

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China-Latin America relations

Brazil’s beef exporters hit a wall in China as 55% tariff kicks in

Surtax on its largest market alarms the industry, which is already locked out of the EU and facing higher US duties.

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A butcher weighs meat at a butcher’s shop in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. China is charging an extra 55 per cent tariff on Brazilian beef starting on Thursday, October 1. Photo: AFP
United States

Will Australia be locked out of top research by shunning Chinese universities?

Observers say Canberra is starting to align with Washington on security policy after it cut partnerships with two institutions from China.

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Pacific nations

In Focus | How Pacific nations walk a tightrope between Western security and Chinese trade

As Australia expands defence pacts in the region, Beijing courts local communities with ‘small and beautiful’ aid.

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China trade

What China’s ‘no’ on Australian bean shipment says about trade ties

Incident sparks concern, but indicates China taking a proactive stance, not necessarily a gloomy forecast for relations, experts say.

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China is the largest importer of mung beans. Photo: Shutterstock
Australia

Australian foreign minister defends multiculturalism, attacks far-right

Foreign Minister Penny Wong cited her own experience of moving to Australia from Malaysia, saying the country is ‘more prosperous because of our diversity’.

High school and university students opposed to the policies of Pauline Hanson and her far-right One Nation Party march through Melbourne on Thursday. Photo: dpa
Canberra

China-Australia relations reach ‘good enough’ baseline, ex-envoy says

Canberra is described as quietly confident in its resilience yet wary of Beijing’s overtures to go further and into new areas of activity.

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Banking & finance

The US helped boost the yen. Can China do the same for the Australian dollar?

Currency traders believe Beijing’s economic policies could give the Australian dollar a boost. Analysts say things are more complex in reality.

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Australia

Australia ramps up Aukus funding with US$3.2 billion for nuclear submarine yard

Aukus, designed to check China’s military advance in the Indo-Pacific, is expected to cost Canberra up to US$250 billion over 30 years.

US Navy officers stand aboard the Virginia-class submarine USS Minnesota docked at HMAS Stirling in Rockingham, Western Australia, on February 26, 2025. Australia aims to acquire at least three US Virginia-class submarines. Photo: AFP
China-Canada relations

Australia raises China’s missile test in meeting with top diplomat Wang Yi

On the sidelines of Asean gathering in Manila, the Chinese foreign minister tells Penny Wong that Canberra should drop its double standards.

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Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and China’s top diplomat Wang Yi on the sidelines of an Asean meeting in Manila on Tuesday. Photo: Weibo/ 外交部
Pacific nations

Vanuatu bans ‘foreign’ military bases in new security pact with Australia

The treaty is the latest in a string of Pacific deals Australia has signed seeking to curb China’s expanding security influence.

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Australia

China’s direct strike threat to Australia is ‘growing’, think tank report finds

A Lowy Institute report said the main threat to Australia was from Chinese missiles fired from ships, submarines and a new ballistic missile.

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China trade

Australian beef will soon be hit by 55% tariff in China, ministry says

China’s imports of Australian beef are about to surpass a quota introduced by Beijing to protect domestic farmers.

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Farmers look at cattle at a weekly livestock sale in New South Wales, Australia. China is a major export market for Australian beef producers. Photo: AFP
China exports

Australian trade minister to visit China to secure fuel during Iran war crunch

Beijing tightened jet fuel exports after the war broke out, forcing Canberra to seek alternative suppliers.

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Yuan

How Australia’s mining giants are helping China to globalise the yuan

Mining firms are increasingly using the yuan for financing and settlements, as China pushes to reduce its reliance on the US dollar.

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Australia

China’s fight for Darwin Port could help fragile Sino-Australian relations

Landbridge Group’s legal claim over the port could take several years to resolve, analysts said, providing more time for dialogue.

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China’s Landbridge Group has launched legal action against Australia after failing to reach an agreement over Darwin port in the Northern Territory city of Darwin. Photo: Handout
Japan

Takaichi bound for Australia to strengthen economic, security ties

The Prime Minister’s three-day visit will focus on defence, critical minerals and broader economic security as Japan takes a more assertive military stance.

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Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi waves as she departs on an official trip to Vietnam and Australia, at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on Friday. Photo: AFP
Australia

Why China’s jet fuel deal with Australia underscores Canberra’s balancing act

Meeting between top diplomats Wang Yi and Penny Wong signals continuing thaw in bilateral relationship after years of diplomatic freeze.

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Yuan

‘Paradigm shift’: is China’s deal with mining giant BHP a global yuan milestone?

The agreement to partly link iron ore pricing to the yuan is a breakthrough but US dollar dominance in the trade remains entrenched for now, analysts say.

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US, Israel war on Iran

‘Neighbours matter’: China, Australia vow more contact amid global tension

Premier Li Qiang says ‘Beijing is willing to import more high-quality Australian products, expand and upgrade bilateral trade’.

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Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (left) and China’s Premier Li Qiang spoke by phone on Tuesday ahead of Li’s planned visit to Australia later this year. Photo: AFP
China's military weapons

Indonesian fisherman nets surprise catch – a Chinese underwater drone

The device was discovered near the Lombok Strait, a strategically vital deepwater passage closely watched by the US and Australia.

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Local police haul the item ashore. Photo: Handout
Mainland China

Australia’s 180-degree shift from 5 years ago: China in favour; US out

Aussie comedian exposes the truth about nation’s feelings towards US president, democracy and public safety.

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Australia

Australia complains to China after encounter between military helicopters

Australia says the Chinese aircraft made an ‘unsafe’ manoeuvre, while China called the statement ‘distortions of facts’.

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