Exclusive | China-dependent Australia unwise to risk trade war with Beijing, says ex-Canberra diplomat

Geoff Raby, Australia’s ambassador to Beijing between 2007-11, says ‘Australia derives its strong economy from China’ and it needs to repair bilateral ties

US-style trade war may not be possible, but Australia will continue to seek other means to engage China in a way that shows support for Washington agenda, he says

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Published: 6:04am, 23 Jun 2020Updated: 9:06am, 26 Jun 2020

There is little chance of a second trade war erupting between Australia and China as Canberra would be “cutting off its nose to spite its face”, as well as jeopardising national security, if it tried to take trade action against Beijing, says Australia’s former ambassador to China.

While a trade war is unlikely to take off, geopolitical tensions will continue to escalate due to Australia’s loyalty to the United States, which is set on pushing back against China’s rise, and Beijing’s own aggressive “wolf-warrior” diplomacy, Geoff Raby said.

“Could [Australia] take measures against China? I mean, why would we? It wouldn’t be a smart move,” he told the South China Morning Post in an interview on Monday.

“There is a big debate in recent years if we are too dependent on China but the reality is there is a massive complementarity between the Australian and Chinese economies.”

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Australia-China trade war only 'wishful thinking', says former ambassador Geoff Raby

Raby, who was Australia’s ambassador to China between 2007 and 2011, now runs Beijing-based business advisory Geoff Raby & Associates. In his 27 years of public service, he held several positions in foreign affairs, including as Australia’s ambassador to the World Trade Organisation.