Ex-Australian PM Scott Morrison to testify before US House panel on China after Albanese's Beijing visit

The former Prime Minister of Australia, Scott Morrison, will be testifying at the US House panel next week at a hearing about countering China’s “economic coercion against Democracies”. The committee confirmed the news on Friday and mentioned that Rahm Emanuel, the former US ambassador to Japan, will also testify before the committee on China.

Relations between China and Australia have been rocky after Canberra banned Huawei from its 5G broadband network in 2018. However, things went further downhill in 2020 after the Morrison government called for an independent investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 virus.

In response to this, China imposed high tariffs on Australian commodities, including wine and barley. They also imposed heavy duties on limited imports of Australian beef, coal and grapes, moves described by the United States as “economic coercion”.

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Eventually, the former Australian premier lost the re-election bid in 2022, paving the way for the country’s current Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese. After the Labour government came to power in the country, there have been signs of warming ties between the two nations.

It is pertinent to note that Albanese spent this week touring China with stops in Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu. The Australian premier’s visit is also coming amid a period of geopolitical instability and escalating trade hostilities between the US and its trading partners.

While responding to his critics, who questioned Albanese’s six-day visit to China, the Australian PM pointed out that the former coalition government failed to hold a single phone call with the country’s largest trading partner for years.

This week, Reuters reported that Canberra is closing in on an agreement with  Beijing that would allow Australian suppliers to ship five trial canola cargoes to China. Sources close to the matter said that the deal would end a year-long freeze in the trade, given how China has imposed 100 per cent tariffs on Canadian canola meal and oil this year amid strained diplomatic ties.

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American envoy Emanuel, who told a Chicago news outlet last month he is considering a run for president in 2028, has been a harsh critic of China. Last year, he said that Beijing has been constantly using coercion and pressure on other nations like Japan and the Philippines.

“Economic coercion by China is their most persistent and pernicious tool in their toolbox,” Emanuel said in a separate speech in 2023. Meanwhile, the Chinese embassy in Washington is yet to comment on the matter.

With inputs from Reuters.