ASPI still spitting its mercenary poison: China Daily editorial

Once again the Australian Strategic Policy Institute has fabricated a China-related report which is nothing but lies, ideological bias and stigmatization. The report on cyber-enabled foreign interference in elections and referendums states that there has been a significant uptick in such activity since 2017 and points an accusing finger at China as one of the parties responsible.

The Australian foreign policy is shaped by a small group of defense and security agencies, among which the self-proclaimed independent, nonpartisan think tank ASPI — which is funded by a number of foreign governments and arms manufacturers — fabricates a steady stream of threats from China.

Like previous China-related reports issued by the ASPI, this academic paper has no credibility at all. It is not based on concrete facts. It just throws mud at China.

The ASPI should look in the mirror if it wants to identify an agent of foreign influence.

For instance, its report on China's talent-recruitment programs received $145,600 from the US State Department. Not to mention that Lockheed Martin Corporation, the US arms manufacturer, is also among its sponsors. The influence of those US donors on the institution's political inclination is obvious as the ASPI's scaremongering about China increasingly echoes that of the US.

As the dust is now settling on the US presidential election, Australia is facing a new opportunity to choose the trajectory of its ties with China. It has a choice between allowing such anti-China organizations to continue to hold bilateral ties hostage or it can ignore their manipulations and seek to fix bilateral ties. The ball is in Canberra's court.

Although they have experienced setbacks, China-Australia ties have by and large deepened over the years. But the current souring of bilateral relations, if unchecked, could squander what has been achieved so far in bilateral cooperation and terminally erode bilateral mutual trust.

Canberra should look at relations objectively. Cooperation in trade and other fields, people-to-people exchanges included, have realized tangible benefits for both countries and their peoples. China is now Australia's biggest trading partner, a crucial source of foreign investment and major source of tourists and overseas students.

In the past few months, a growing number of Australians have raised their voices in support of a healthy and stable China-Australia relationship knowing that it best serves the fundamental interests of the country. Some have also urged the Australian government to remain vigilant against the output from agencies such as the ASPI, which they caution are ill-intentioned.

It is high time Canberra ignored the bias of the ASPI and its ilk, and set a rational course to get bilateral relations back onto the right track.