We need to treat China like the superpower it is

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This was published 6 years ago

We need to treat China like the superpower it is

By Nicholas Stuart

The biggest challenge Australia has ever faced is waiting at the door. Yet we're too busy squabbling to even answer the bell, let alone work out how we're going to greet our Chinese guests.

Malcolm Turnbull seems to both want to slam it shut while passing lumps of coal out the window. Fair enoughbut he shouldn't yell loud obscenities and tell the visitors to go away at the same time. Andrew Robb is struggling to prop the door wide open (having been extremely well tipped for doing so); Alexander Downer is preparing a tea party; and Julie Bishop can't quite seem to work out exactly why she needs to stop receiving all that useful money the nice Chinese gentlemen are giving her. She thought she deserved it, simply because she's so wonderful.

Never too quick on the uptake, she's genuinely shocked to find out people expect something in return.

Meanwhile, Sam Dastyari's throwing cakes out the window before the guests arrive. Unfortunately, he has soiled himself, which explains the growing stink coming from the corner he was sent. Bill Shorten can't work out what to say, he's just repeating "I'm shocked and disappointed". It's an expression he uses to occupy all his gaping policy gaps.

Australia and China's foreign ministers, Julie Bishop and Wang Yi, in Beijing in February.

Australia and China's foreign ministers, Julie Bishop and Wang Yi, in Beijing in February.Credit: AP

Yes, it's the usual situation in Canberra.

Mummy (Britain) and daddy (the United States) have departed, foolishly believing our political debate was intellectual and mature enough to chart our own way forward in the modern world. Apparently it's not.

So what are the real issues here? Our politicians need to embrace a simple three-step program (outlined below) to help them embrace international relations.

The first step is easy: shut up. Only contribute to the conversation when you have something meaningful or worthwhile to say.

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Joe Hockey could particularly benefit from this simple strategy. He's the classic example of someone with just enough knowledge to be truly dangerous, but not enough comprehension to frame his ideas into a workable model of what the world's actually like. As a politician, his bloated reputation never meshed with the wobbling actuality, and nothing has changed. It's hard to believe, but this once-failed leadership candidate who couldn't even pass his first budget now thinks he understands international affairs.

Starting by (incorrectly and ludicrously) saying that cities like Canberra could be targeted by North Korea, Hockey quickly segued into warnings about China. That in itself isn't a problem. What is a concern is that his ideas about China are ill-informed, out-of-date or plain vacuous. There is no space to go into exhaustive detail about how he is wrong: the danger is that he is creating an atmosphere in which muddle-headed thinking can flourish. This pushes intellectual debate to the sidelines, because it's much easier simply to embrace a stereotype then attempt to understand what's really going on.

However, it isn't just old-fashioned right-wingers we need to worry about – lefties need to rethink their paradigms, too.

China can't be simplified; it's changing all the time. The Australian Strategic Policy Institute'ss Malcolm Davis correctly insists we witnessed one of those pivotal, inflection moments just two months ago at the Chinese Community Party's 19th congress in Beijing. This was when, during a prolonged harangue of three hours, President Xi Jinping unveiled a change in party policy. Directly challenging the West, he insisted China's development model is not merely an alternative but also superior to liberal democracy.

It's inevitable that the paymaster will call the tune.

The way to demonstrate the virtues of genuine democracy isn't through conflict, or by yelling about how superior we are. It's a long-term debate that will be won by sharing ideas and examples. Simplistic stereotypes are out.

The second step is equally evident and utterly simple: don't take money.

It's inevitable that the paymaster will call the tune. It's only natural that politicians believe the donations they receive is completely without any strings attached, because they want to believe it. It allows them to continue pocketing the cash, indulging in the travel and enjoying the entertainment without feeling compromised. Pigs might fly, too.

So that's what not to do, but the actions we can take are equally simple and obvious. They boil down to one simple injunction: deal with China like the superpower it is.

The days when Australia had its own, particular "special relationship" with China are over. China still sends good ambassadors to Canberra but they're not at the level they once were. Both countries may be nations but we're certainly not equals. We should stop pretending.

We should learn from the Australian National University's engagement. Last week witnessed successive events, hosted by the ANU, including Professor Hugh White speaking about his brilliant new Quarterly Essay and the college of Asia and the Pacific's publication of Nuclear Asia, a collection of thoughts about the new nuclear dimension to strategy in diplomacy.

These commentators present sensible strategies for the future. What's critical about all the contributions is that they recognise that the fundamentals have changed. Understanding the new dynamics in play will require work and effort, but it will be fun and it will more than pay off in the end.

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Moaning for the past is no way to move into the future.

Nicholas Stuart is a Canberra author and columnist.

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