Australian Economy Is Too Dependent on China and Needs Diversification, Says Senate Opposition Leader

Under Australia's new foreign relations law, which allows the federal government to veto pacts between states and overseas governments or institutions, it is expected that agreements on the ‘Belt and Road’ (‘B&R’) initiative and Confucian Institutes between local governments and China will be voided. Penny Wong, leader of the opposition Labor Party in the Senate, said on 7 December that she hopes the federal and Victorian governments will have “sensible discussions” regarding the latter’s ‘B&R’ agreement. While stressing the need for a new economic strategy where Australia will work with other countries, Wong fell short of signalling a revocation of Victoria’s ‘B&R’ agreement.

As Victoria’s ‘B&R’ agreement with China faces the prospect of being suspended, Wong said in an interview with the ABC that she thinks the federal government “should try to resolve this in a way that respects engagement with the state government and that recognises that China will observe how this is handled carefully”.

Adding that the Labor Party supports the Liberal government in opposing Victoria’s ‘B&R’ initiative, Wong did not indicate specifically that the agreement will be unilaterally cancelled. Wong suggested that instead of considering how Australia can fix its relationship with China, it needs a strategy to diversify its economy and cooperate with other countries in the region given that it is now too reliant on China.

Source: Stand News #Dec07

#Australia #Victoria #China #OneBeltOneRoad #BeltAndRoad #PennyWong #Labor #Diplomacy #Economy #Trade

https://bit.ly/38ES1Sa

The Alarming Human Toll of Cheap Stuff ‘Made in China’

In the aftermath of 2020 — a year that saw both the expansion of a vast detention and forced labor system in the western Chinese province of Xinjiang and a homebound global population increasingly reliant on goods delivered anonymously to their doorstep — Pang’s book feels timely and urgent. Her argument starts here, in the room with the mushrooms, and goes like this: that the way we consume is unsustainable; that things as seemingly trivial as paper mushrooms and Halloween decorations are entangled in a system that hides atrocity by design and makes complicity — with authoritarian governments, with dangerous working conditions and even with religious persecution — part of modern life. Pang, a freelance journalist who grew up in a Mandarin-speaking household, is most effective when she is drawing out these juxtapositions, putting production and torture matter-of-factly side by side.

Source: Times #Feb02

#China #Labor #Xinjiang #Human

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/02/books/review/made-in-china-amelia-pang.html?referringSource=articleShare

U.S. Steps Up Pressure on Businesses Over Forced Labor in China

U.S. lawmakers and Biden administration officials are stepping up pressure on American businesses to stop imports from the Western Chinese region of Xinjiang as Beijing’s alleged use of forced labor emerges as a top item on their bilateral trade agenda.

Western officials say the Chinese government uses forced labor of Uyghur and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, the world’s leading producer of cotton and raw materials used in solar panels. Beijing strongly denies the claim.

Imports of cotton and tomato products have already been effectively banned since January, and penalties on purchases of some solar materials were implemented in June.

Source: WSJ #Aug09

https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-steps-up-pressure-on-businesses-over-forced-labor-in-china-11628501400

#US #Labor #China #Biden #Xinjiang #Uyghur #Muslim

China Closes U.S. Auditor as Tensions Mount Over Forced Labor Allegations

Chinese authorities have shut down a U.S. labor auditor’s local China partner, escalating Beijing’s campaign to counter forced-labor allegations in its northwest Xinjiang region and potentially complicating efforts by multinationals to certify supply chains in the country.

China-based Shenzhen Verite, which is affiliated with U.S. labor rights nonprofit Verite Inc., was closed following an April raid on its offices by Chinese security forces, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Source: WSJ #Aug19

https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-closes-u-s-auditor-as-tensions-mount-over-forced-labor-allegations-11629390253

#China #US #Auditor #Labor