Chinese ambassador’s ‘grandstanding’ advice for Australia raises eyebrows

In an opinion article published in The Australian newspaper on June 30, ambassador Xiao Qian said that some countries attending events such as the G7 summit and the recent Nato meeting had “hyped up the so-called China threat narrative” to increase defence spending and “even incited Australia to follow suit”.

“Dramatically increasing military spending places a heavy fiscal burden on the countries involved, undermining their efforts to boost economies and improve livelihoods, and further straining a global economy already struggling with weak recovery,” he said.

Ian Hall, an international relations professor at Griffith University, said Canberra had resisted calls from Washington to boost defence spending significantly.