Australia should ‘respect China’s sovereignty’ on Taiwan, ambassador says

China’s ambassador Xiao Qian says he hopes Australia will “respect China’s sovereignty” if it Beijing invades Taiwan.

In a wide-ranging press conference in Canberra on Tuesday, the envoy rejected that any military takeover of Taiwan could be described as an invasion because the Chinese government considers the democratically self-governed island a province of China.

“There is only one China and Taiwan is a province of China so this is a serious commitment from the Australian government over the past several decades and I am aware each and every government in this country has been reconfirming their commitment on this issue,” Mr Xiao told reporters.

“I hope that the Australian side would respect China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, would practice this commitment of a one-China policy in words, in deeds, and to support openly the peaceful reunification of China.”

Indeed, Australia has long supported a one-China policy on paper, but also holds deep diplomatic and trade ties with Taiwan.

The Albanese government has also condemned Chinese military exercises around the island, including its latest war-games in October simulating an invasion.

The thorny issue was just one of several Mr Xiao tried to brush over while spruiking 2024 as the year of bilateral normalisation between Canberra and Beijing after a turbulent decade.

He said the Australia-China relationship was “in a very good shape” but also at a “very critical period of time.”

“The year of 2022 was a year of stabilisation,” he said.

“This year, 2024, has been a year of consolidation, and improving relationship and it symbolised a complete turnaround of the relationship.”

China’s Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian says Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s election in 2022 was the “year of the stabilisation” in Australia’s relationship with China. “As I mentioned in my remarks earlier, we experienced a difficult time for several years until two years ago,” Mr Xiao said at a media conference on Tuesday. “Since then, we have successfully changed that situation. “The year of 2022 was the year of the stabilisation when President Xi met with Prime Minister Albanese. “The year of 2023 was the year of immense improvement.”

Mr Xiao acknowledged “there will be differences ... even disputes on certain issues”, but said that there was room for the Australian and Chinese governments to navigate disagreeances.

“We will always manage our differences wisely and maturely,” he said.

But some issues are chasmic, such as China’s torture and enslavement of Uighurs in its Xinjiang province and the Chinese military’s recent firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

Further, Australia has been rapidly expanding its defensive and offensive capabilities amid expectations of a large scale regional conflict next decade.

Defence Industry Pat Conroy has openly said Australia was in the midst of a “new Indo-Pacific missile age”.

More to come.