In Australia, a Call for Closer Ties to China Gains Support

by Dramelin 3:00 AM 0 comments

Australia Beta Newsletter Join Times journalists as they shape a new project celebrating and examining Australia from a global perspective.
He called on Australia to make China its primary focus of diplomacy and economic policy and to ?implant in our education the study of China and Chinese.
??We are living in a Chinese world,? he said.
Stephen FitzGerald, Australia?s first ambassador to China, delivered a speech on Thursday that will only amplify that debate, arguing that the world had reached the end of an era defined by European and American leadership.
Dr.
FitzGerald, an esteemed figure in Australia whose comments on China are always closely parsed, seemed especially eager to seize on Mr.
Trump?s rise to argue for a shift in focus.
He did not hold back on what he hoped Australia could affect: Dr.
FitzGerald explicitly criticized China?s anti-democratic tendencies, calling out the way it seeks to influence Australian politics through investments and campaign contributions.