Australia sticking its neck out for the US on the issue of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei will not stop the US from striking a trade deal with China that could result in Australian exports suffering.
Malcolm Turnbull’s reset of relations with China was inevitable, as the fears his government has been spreading – about Chinese money in Australia’s democracy and China’s growing influence in the region – had little substance.
The dream of a strategic alliance between the US, Japan, India and Australia to counter China’s influence appears doomed to fail.
Australia’s pivot away from China is a naive attempt to fall in line with the Trump administration’s policies.
Government leaders’ strikingly less friendly attitude in the past six months, while they draw closer to the US, reflects Canberra’s difficult balancing act of keeping relations with both China and the US on an even keel