China and Free Societies

For decades, it was widely held that China’s economic progress would create the internal conditions for a more democratic regime that would be more stable and less of a potential global threat. But Beijing has not followed the “end of history” script.

So have we been naive about China? Is Australia’s longstanding pragmatism—putting differences aside to focus on shared interests—still tenable? To what extent does Beijing threaten our national sovereignty? And how can we best preserve political autonomy in a regional order that increasingly revolves around China?