July 1-15, 2021 - Vol 1, Issue 25
INDIA NEWS
EDITORIAL
Queensland’s budget China’s wolf aimed at saving lives warrior diplomacy and creating jobs A Srikanth Kondapalli
s China’s communist party celebrates its 100th anniversary on July 1st, one of the key changes that happened under its stewardship is the rise of aggressive diplomatic posturing against other countries. While this is not a new phenomenon, it has nevertheless acquired domineering proportions in China’s interactions with the outside world.
T
he Queensland Government recently presented its budget which according to Treasurer Cameron Dick will create more jobs in the state leading to faster economic recovery, as the state goes under another three-day snap lockdown. The budget has allocated $3.34bn under Queensland Jobs Fund focused on investment attraction and industry development to attract the investment needed to drive on-going growth, and provide wider economic and employment benefits; $52.2bn under the infrastructure program over the next four years creating over 46,500 direct jobs in 202122; $22.2bn on health during 2021-22 for creating a worldclass health system, which is critical for effectively managing the pandemic; $18.3bn under education and training during 2021-22, including $460mn toward targeted investments in flagship skills and training and employment programs Skilling Queenslanders for Work and a revitalised Back to Work program; $14.2bn on economic support initiatives, $6.1bn in concessions and lowering cost of living and $1.9bn on social housing and homelessness investment over the next four years. Under the 2021-2022 budget targeted measures have been announced to support small businesses and regional economies The Queensland Government says that the Economic Recovery Plan will continue to support businesses, workers, families and communities across the state, and the government has successfully handled the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in the state, putting the $360bn economy on the path to a robust recovery. Over the 10 years, by 2024-25 the government will have supported over $110bn in infrastructure works, as per the Plan. The government appears to be very buoyant about the economic rebound, lowering debt and increasing jobs for
www.indianews.com.au
Queenslanders. As per the budget figures the net debt in 2021-22 is expected to be touching $9.69bn, which is below the 2020-21 forecast, which has resulted from higher revenue, lower expenses [including the savings identified in the Savings and Debt Plan, and a material increase in the value of investments held in the newly established Queensland Future Fund (Debt Retirement Fund estimated to be valued around $7.7bn by the end of 2020-21)]. The budget figures show employment recovery of all the jobs lost during the pandemic, and the same is now forecast to grow by 2¼ per cent in 2020–21 and 3 per cent in 2021–22. The unemployment rate is also low at an estimated 5¾% by June quarter 2022 and reaching 5% by June quarter 2025. The budget also demonstrates that employment in Queensland has rebounded to be 54,900 persons higher in April 2021 than its pre-pandemic level in March 2020, and 253,200 persons higher since the depths of the pandemic in May 2020. The treasurer has said that Queensland has recorded the strongest employment growth of any jurisdiction since March 2020. According to the government figures the economic forecast and recovery are promising and impressive, but there remains the large unknown in terms of what scale of impact would the pandemic have vertically and horizontally, on the economy under the second wave, as Queensland goes into a three-day lockdown again. The government’s fundamental strategy comprising a hard response to the pandemic based on shutting borders and enforcing lockdowns although intensely debated seems to have been paying the dividends. The cyclical process of safeguarding lives leading to economic and business activities, which in turn creates more jobs and revenue, helps the government address its primary concern — safeguarding lives.
The triggers for such a belligerent posture are located in its history, contemporary interactions and practice but also a sense of belonging to the Middle Kingdom of the yore. In the words of the Qing emperor Qianlong, meeting the British Earl George Macartney’s 1793 delegation: “Our dynasty’s majestic virtue has penetrated unto every country under heaven, and kings of all nations have offered their costly tribute by land and sea. … we possess all things. I set no value on objects strange or ingenious, and have no use for your country’s manufactures”. This streak runs through the subsequent generations of Chinese leaders in what was termed as “great wall syndrome” of keeping away the “barbarians” from the outside world. Even though China is a major beneficiary of the globalisation process, specifically after entering the World Trade Organisation in 2001, the rise of China in the past four decades vetted its global ambitionsto assert itself. A shift from Deng Xiaoping’s “keeping a low profile” (taoguangyanghui) to Xi Jinping’s “accomplishing something” (fenfayouwei) has a huge bearing on the country’s attitudes. China’s rise is also reflected in such movies as the Wolf Warrior series which assured the Chinese that the party-state would back them to the hilt in their pursuits abroad. This is clearly flowing from the decisions taken at the 4th and 5th Central Conferences on Work Relating to Foreign Affairs in November 2014 and June 2018 at Beijing respectively to protect China’s interests abroad. There is also the influence of rising nationalism in China, which since the Japanese defeat of China in 1895, was targeted Photo Courtesy: Global Watch Analysis
against Japan. Apart from the number of demonstrations against Japanese businesses on historical issues, recently, those 200 Chinese scholars who availed Japan Foundation fellowships were termed as “traitors”. China’s rabid nationalism is also directed against the United States. As relations between China and the US deteriorated since the tariff issues came into prominence, China’s diplomats began using sharp invectives in their responses. In the backdrop of the border tensions at Dokhlam in 2017 and the bloody conflict at Galwan in June 2020 between India and China, China’s nationalism is also getting diversified. Several recent instances can be cited on how China has been implementing its “wolf warrior” diplomacy. The US and its allies faced the brunt of the attacks of China. Zhao Lijian, the foreign ministry spokesman tweeted the US military personnel introduced bioweapons at Wuhan in October 2019 during the World Military Sports events, although he did not provide evidence nor retain the tweet for long. Zhao and other spokespersons comments have increasingly become hoarse on the State Department officials and coincided with the US sanctions on issues related to Xinjiang, Tibet, Taiwan, South China Sea, Huawei, ZTE and others. Australia bore the brunt of Chinese attacks too as it took lead in the World Health Assembly in May last year for a probe into the origins of epidemic at Wuhan. China imposed restrictions on Australian products. In December last year, in a bizarre incident, Zhao tweeted a morphed photo of an Australian soldier holding a knife to the throat of an Afghan child. Prime Minister Morrison retaliated by stating that the “Chinese government should be totally ashamed of this post. It diminishes them in the world's eyes.” China’s ambassador to France Lu Shaye’s April 2020 disparaged the western countries criticism of China’s handling of the pandemic and lack of transparency. When this March the United States, the European Union, Britain and Canada imposed sanctions
on Chinese officials for human rights abuses in Xinjiang, China sanctioned several European nationals, including French Member of the European Parliament Raphaël Glucksmann, Adrian Zenz, MERICS Reinhard Butikofer, Michael Gahler, Ilhan Kyuchyuk, Miriam Lexmann of the European Parliament and others. Chinese embassy’s caustic remarks in March this year on the French lawmakers proposed visit to Taiwan only led to warnings by the French authorities. The Chinese embassy in France reached its nadir in public relations with its bizarre of Antoine Bondaz of Foundation for Strategic Research as a “smalltime thug” and “mad hyena”. China’s ambassador to the U.K, Liu Xiaoming as well faced condemnation for his criticism of the parliament members who imposed restrictions on the Huawei 5G telecommunications as well as on the incarceration of scores of people in Hong Kong under the new security law. What surprised many was the sudden spurt of this “wolf warrior” diplomacy even on seasoned Chinese diplomats. Also, public opinion polls across the world have depicted to high levels of disapproval of China’s aggressive policies and on the pandemic that killed over four million people across the globe. Taking a cue from the widespread global disapproval to this “wolf warrior” diplomacy, China’s President Xi Jinping on May 31 this year in a study session suggested that diplomats should present the image of a “credible, lovable and respectable China” to the world. It of course needs to be seen whether China’s diplomats mend their fences or follow the structural influences of rabid nationalism and revival of the Middle Kingdom. Pursuing China’s “wolf warrior” diplomacy has its own pitfalls. The carefully cultivated veneer of Chinese civilisational-state ethos, benevolence (wangdao), its doctrine of the Mean on how to use power and influence, winning respect through virtues, harmony without suppressing differences – all appear to be tossed out in pursuit of this aggressive diplomacy. The costs for China are clearly high in front of the international community. Srikanth Kondapalli is Professor in Chinese Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
facebook.com/indianewsaustralia
18
