Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump have raised global tensions

Andrew Shearer, The Australian Financial Review; original article contains links.

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Excerpt:

The decision of Australia, the US and other countries to admit China to the WTO was premised on the understanding that its membership would be accompanied by the steady liberalisation of the Chinese economy – and ultimately of its political system. Today it's clear that China is on a decidedly illiberal trajectory. And the sheer mass of China's economy means it is becoming not just a vital source of world growth, but also increasingly of systemic disruption.

The recent kerfuffle in Australia about Chinese political interference is another manifestation of these destabilising trends.

Conveniently ignoring the Chinese Communist Party's elaborate United Front apparatus, Australian apologists have been quick to downplay the issue, to play the racism card or draw spurious comparisons with legitimate public diplomacy [JB emphasis]by other democracies – despite the fact that similar clandestine activities have been exposed in New Zealand and elsewhere. ...