China’s increasingly repressive rule at home and assertiveness abroad show few signs of moderating as it emerges from the pandemic. Meanwhile, Australian attitudes have hardened in the face of Beijing’s trade coercion and diplomatic taunts. The government has drawn lines to protect national sovereignty with new legislation and other measures.
But is Canberra doing enough as the divergence between our values and security interests and those of our top trade partner grows starker? Does security trump prosperity, or are we risking our future prosperity by needlessly provoking the PRC?
Hosted by CIS adjunct fellow, Salvatore Babones, this debate featured six young and upcoming scholars as well as an introductory keynote address by Peter Hartcher, international editor of the Sydney Morning Herald and author of the new book Red Zone: China’s Challenge and Australia’s Future.
For the affirmative, Satya Marar is a CIS research associate and admitted solicitor to the Supreme Court of New South Wales. Yuki Cheng studies a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) and Economics (Econometrics) at UNSW. Chanum Torres is an Economics and Law student at the University of Sydney and serves as an Officer on the NSW Young Liberals executive.
For the negative, Yun Jiang is the producer of China Neican at ANU’s Australian Centre on China in the World. Frank Yuan is a PhD candidate at the University of Sydney’s Department of History, researching Australia’s attitudes and policies toward the People’s Republic of China. Yidi Yan is a Chinese-born and raised international student studying Statistics and Urban Informatics in Australia.