Impressions of China's New Diplomacy: The Australian Experience

Extract

The visit of the Australian Labour Party (ALP) delegation to China in July this year provided an interesting and representative example of Chinese diplomacy in action.* Although the ALP is in opposition, the delegation was dealt with by China as the representatives of a possible future Australian government, and its leader, Gough Whitlam, as the alternative Australian Prime Minister. The discussions were pitched accordingly. The visit also had some general relevance because of the importance China now attaches to relations with “small” powers, including countries like Australia (which see themselves rather as middle powers); indeed, China's new diplomatic contacts with such powers illustrate the whole thrust of China's global diplomacy in 1971. The Australian case is interesting also because in Australia, as in the United States and a number of other countries, the “China problem” has been such a central issue in foreign policy that it has spilled over into a complex involvement in domestic politics.