China’s Foreign Ministry urged Australia to revoke its wrong decision Wednesday to tear up an agreement between Victoria state and China on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), asserting what Canberra has done is bucking the development trend of history.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin described the Australian decision as “a backward step”, which is to further deteriorate an already frayed bilateral relationship.
“China has lodged stern representations with the Australian side, urging it to revoke the decision, or it will prompt China to hit back in a hard way,” Wang said.
The BRI is an inclusive and transparent global cooperation initiative and the deal between Victoria state and China is a win-win deal for both sides, Wang said.
Wang noted that the Australian move is very unreasonable, deliberately sabotaging regular bilateral cooperation and mutual trust.
“We express strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to it, and we reserve right to respond,” Wang said. The spokesperson refuted the notion that the decision “is not aimed at any country.”
“Australia recently reviewed more than 1,000 deals and decided to revoke four contracts. Out of these, two are related to China,” Wang said, refuting the non-discriminatory statement.
Wang said Australia has a blurred definition on how a business deal affects its national security and foreign policy, while Canberra’s political manipulation will harm the confidence of public and private organizations from the two countries which also will tarnish the country’s image.
“Speaking of seeking cooperation from time to time and choosing to do otherwise by undermining China-Australia ties repeatedly, Canberra’s action is yet another verification that Australia has no sincerity in developing bilateral ties,” Wang said.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin. Photo: VCG
