Latest news with #XiaoQian
South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- General
- South China Morning Post
US military personnel in Taiwan, mainland China's ‘cure' to Hyperloop flaw: SCMP's 7 highlights
We have selected seven stories from this week's news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing Washington's disclosure that around 500 US military personnel are stationed in Taiwan signals more open and substantial defence support for the island – a pivot from a previously discreet partnership that is openly testing Beijing's red lines, according to analysts. After spending 35 years in the United States pioneering research on the neural circuits that govern sleep and executive brain functions of the frontal cortex, neuroscientist Dan Yang has returned to China to join the Shenzhen Medical Academy of Research and Translation (SMART) as a senior principal investigator. Chinese ambassador to Canberra Xiao Qian said he hoped Australia would view issues around the leasing of Darwin port 'objectively'. Photo: Handout China's ambassador to Australia has described the Australian government's plan to end a Chinese firm's control of the strategically located Darwin Port as 'questionable', saying the company should not be punished.
South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- General
- South China Morning Post
US military personnel in Taiwan, China's ‘cure' to Hyperloop flaw: SCMP's 7 highlights
We have selected seven stories from this week's news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing Washington's disclosure that around 500 US military personnel are stationed in Taiwan signals more open and substantial defence support for the island – a pivot from a previously discreet partnership that is openly testing Beijing's red lines, according to analysts. After spending 35 years in the United States pioneering research on the neural circuits that govern sleep and executive brain functions of the frontal cortex, neuroscientist Dan Yang has returned to China to join the Shenzhen Medical Academy of Research and Translation (SMART) as a senior principal investigator. Chinese ambassador to Canberra Xiao Qian said he hoped Australia would view issues around the leasing of Darwin port 'objectively'. Photo: Handout China's ambassador to Australia has described the Australian government's plan to end a Chinese firm's control of the strategically located Darwin Port as 'questionable', saying the company should not be punished.
South China Morning Post
4 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Port in storm threat to China-Australia ties
Just when frayed relations between Beijing and Canberra are on the mend, Australia's efforts to balance a security relationship with the United States and its trading relationship with China have hit a snag. China has intervened in a move to unwind Chinese control of a strategic asset – Darwin port on Australia's northern border. The case has the potential for another flare-up similar to that over the proposal by Hong Kong's CK Hutchison Holdings to sell off container ports including two strategically and politically sensitive operations on the Panama Canal. Chinese firm Landbridge Group was awarded a 99-year lease of the Darwin facility in 2015, under a deal approved by the Northern Territory government, but criticised by the then US president, Barack Obama. The port is not far from where US marines conduct exercises. Investment and management by Landbridge have since turned the port into a profitable operation. Facing criticism ahead of a recent election, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government was working on a plan to buy back the port on national interest grounds, saying it needed to be 'in Australian hands'. Xiao Qian, China's ambassador to Canberra, said: 'Such an enterprise deserves encouragement, not punishment. It is ethically questionable to lease the port when it was unprofitable and then seek to reclaim it once it becomes profitable.' Xiao urged the Australian government to create a fair, transparent and predictable business environment for Chinese companies in Australia. From China's perspective, this case may serve as a cautionary tale about investing abroad, particularly in certain countries. Australia, after all, is a US ally. But if the port is returned to Australian hands, there would be doubts whether Australia could stand up to US pressure in future. That is why China has spoken up. There is likely to be a much tougher geopolitical environment ahead. Canberra should be mindful of warming bilateral relations, with China having lifted trade bans on Australian exports in December. That is thanks in part to a more pragmatic approach from Canberra to relations with Beijing since ties were damaged years ago by security reforms targeting China and a call for an independent inquiry into the origins of Covid-19.
NHK
5 days ago
- Business
- NHK
Australia plan to reclaim port control criticized by China
Australia's government is planning to take back control of a port leased to a Chinese company, drawing criticism from Beijing. Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made an election pledge last month to bring Darwin Port back under Australian control. He said the move was to protect national interests. The site has a strategic location as Australia's nearest port to Asia. It's also in close proximity to an Australian naval base used by US forces. A Chinese firm entered into a 99-year lease for the port in 2015. Washington expressed concern about the move at the time. Australian media recently reported that a company associated with US President Donald Trump has shown interest in acquiring the site. Beijing has come out against Australia's plan to reclaim control. Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said on Tuesday that the company obtained the lease through the market, and its legitimate interests should be fully protected. China's Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian also said that the firm turned the port's financial situation around and contributed to the area's development. He added that it was ethically questionable to try and reclaim the site after it had become profitable.
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
China condemns Australia's push to reclaim Darwin Port lease
China's ambassador to Australia has warned the Albanese government against its trying to forcibly take back control of the strategically significant Port of Darwin - calling it 'ethically questionable'. During the federal election campaign, both Labor and the Coalition promised to return the port to Australian ownership after the Northern Territory government brokered a $506million deal to lease the port for 99 years to Chinese firm Landbridge in 2015. The Labor government has said it is searching for a local buyer but would 'directly intervene' to broker a deal if necessary - though it is not clear how. Ambassador Xiao Qian (pictured right), who visited the port last week, published a statement on the Chinese Embassy's website on Sunday saying the leasing arrangement delivered strong economic and social opportunities to the region. 'Such an enterprise and project deserves encouragement, not punishment,' he said. 'It is ethically questionable to lease the port when it was unprofitable and then seek to reclaim it once it becomes profitable'. Security expert and Strategic Analysis Australia founder Michael Shoebridge told Daily Mail Australia the port will be the first major foreign policy test in the Albanese government's second term - one neither he, nor Australia, can afford to get wrong. 'The Ambassador raising the port so quickly after the election shows he's acting on instructions from Beijing. Beijing doesn't want Darwin port out of the Chinese company's control and able to be used to support Australia's security,' he said. 'It's obvious this is a test for Prime Minister Albanese set by Beijing to see, "Will he back away from the commitment that he made during the election?"' Mr Shoebridge said it seemed 'quite likely' the Prime Minister will back away from his commitment given he appeared to have only announcement the repossession in April to negate an identical promise from then-Opposition Leader Peter Dutton. 'Now Beijing and the Australian population get to see if the Prime Minister was serious or he was just making his way through the election campaign,' he said. On questions of foreign policy, Albanese has repeatedly stated Australia will 'cooperate where we can, disagree where we must' while engaging on matters of national interest. Mr Shoebridge said the Port of Darwin sale will give the Prime Minister his first opportunity to test the second leg of his statement. 'It will be probably the first case of Albanese applying his slogan. This is an example of "disagree where we must" and does the Prime Minister have the courage to actually disagree on the port?' Ambassador Qian said the lease was secured through an 'open and transparent' bidding process and said the two countries ought to act as strategic partners. 'China and Australia are comprehensive strategic partners. The two sides should foster mutual trust, as mutually beneficial cooperation aligns with our shared interests,' he said. 'We hope the Australian federal government and the Northern Territory government will create a fair, transparent, and predictable business environment for Chinese enterprises operating in Australia.' The controversial lease, which then NT Chief Minister Adam Giles described as 'a fantastic outcome for the Territory', has been criticised as a potential national security risk. Landbridge is owned by Chinese billionaire Ye Cheng, but Albanese previously said the private firm is 'connected very directly' with Xi Jinping's Chinese government. Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was chided by then-US President Barack Obama over the leasing arrangement at a 2015 meeting. Last month, John Elferink, who was the Northern Territory's attorney general at the time the lease was signed, defended his government's decision to broker the deal - claiming it only became controversial after the infamous Obama meeting. 'We heard nothing from the then-prime minister [Malcolm Turnbull] at that time, equally, we heard nothing from the Labor Party… who remained totally silent on the matter,' he told the ABC. 'The only reason this ever became an issue was well after the event when [US] president [Barack] Obama made a comment when he was talking to… Malcolm Turnbull. That then belled the cat, so to speak. And since that time, this has been a percolating issue in the background.' While Landbridge has repeatedly stated the port is not for sale, Labor representatives have confirmed the government has been meeting with potential buyers. US private equity firm Cerberus Capital Mangement has emerged as a potential frontrunner in the bid to take back control of the port, though it has yet to confirm reports in The Australian it was preparing a purchase offer. Non-executive director for Landbridge in Australia Terry O'Connor told Daily Mail Australia it was 'business as usual' at the port. 'Landbridge has not yet received any offers or engagement from the government at any level,' Mr O'Connor said. 'Darwin port representatives escorted the Ambassador on a tour of the port during his recent visit to Darwin. Landbridge welcomes his comments in relation to the Port's operation and its contribution to the Northern Territory economy.' The Australian government has ruled out cancelling the Chinese company's lease over the port after Albanese ordered a review of the agreement shortly after the 2022 election. The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet said, at the time, the review found a 'robust regulatory system' was in place at the port to manage risks to 'critical infrastructure' but said it would continue to monitor the port's security arrangements.
