China says Australian ‘words and deeds’ to blame for dispute

China said the actions and words of Australia’s government and some people in the country are to blame for the worsening relations between the two nations.

“The cause of the current difficulties in our bilateral relations is very clear,” Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told reporters in Beijing on Thursday. “For some time Australia has been violating basic norms governing international relations, and made erroneous words and deeds on issues concerning China’s core interests, including those related to Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Taiwan, and blatantly interfered in China’s internal affairs.”

Wang added that “without any evidence, some in Australia accuse China of so-called interference and infiltration into Australia.” Those critics “politicize, stigmatize and put wanton restrictions on the normal bilateral exchange and cooperation,” he said. “These deeds severely undermined mutual trust, poisoned the atmosphere of bilateral relations, and restricted the good momentum of our practical cooperation.”

Canberra has said it’s seeking to resolve the disputes through diplomatic and other official channels, while Australia’s ambassador in Beijing said Thursday that it was important all nations play by international rules on trade.

“When trade is treated as a political tool, we all suffer,” Ambassador Graham Fletcher said, without naming any specific country.

Ties between the two nations were already in poor shape before the Covid-19 pandemic, with Australia banning a Chinese tech company from participating in its 5G network and adopting a new law to stop foreign interference. Relations deteriorated further this year after Canberra called for an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus in China.

Beijing has retaliated by imposing tariffs on Australian barley imports, banning some other imports and ordering traders to stop buying at least seven commodities including coal, copper and wine—actions which Australian ministers have labeled “economic coercion.”

Hong Kong

The two sides also criticized each other over the question of Hong Kong on Thursday.

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said that “Beijing’s disqualification of duly elected Legislative Council lawmakers seriously undermines Hong Kong’s democratic processes and institutions.”

China’s embassy in Canberra responded that this was an internal matter for China, and urged Australia to “stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs and China’s internal affairs.”

In its latest trade move, China banned timber imports from Australia’s Victoria state this week. Wang said Thursday that was because hazardous pests had been found in a previous shipment, the same reason given for earlier banning timber imports from another Australian state.

Wang indicated that Australia needed to make the first move before there would be any improvement in relations.

“The one who ties the knot must be the one who unties it,” he said. “The key to lifting bilateral relations out of these difficulties is that Australia needs to face up to the root cause of the difficulties and view China and China’s development in a rational and unbiased manner, earnestly uphold mutual respect and equal treatment when dealing with bilateral relations, and do more things to enhance mutual trust and practical cooperation.”