trading relations. New Zealand's with China, Australia, EU, USA, ...

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kingdragonfly

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#279928 17-Nov-2020 15:42

With a new new foreign minister, thought this would be a good thread to start.

Primarily concerning our relationship with trading partners after this year from hell.

Trading partners by total trade

China, People's Republic of
Australia
European Union
United States of America
Japan
Singapore
Korea, Republic of
Thailand
United Arab Emirates
Malaysia
India
Taiwan
Indonesia
Canada
Hong Kong

New York Times: With Progressive Politics on March in New Zealand, Maori Minister Blazes New Trails

Nanaia Mahuta, the new foreign minister, brings a reputation as an honest broker to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s cabinet, the most diverse in the country’s history.

Nanaia Mahuta entered New Zealand’s Parliament as the youngest Maori woman to ever gain a seat. More than two decades later, she has become the country’s minister of foreign affairs, another trailblazing first. So when she was asked at a recent news conference about another woman of color breaking barriers halfway around the world, she broke into a wide smile.

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, she said, “will bring, I’m sure, some very unique attributes to their leadership.”

“I’m not sure I’m in a position to give her a message,” Ms. Mahuta added, her eyes bright with possibility. “But what I can say, as the first woman representing the foreign affairs portfolio in Aotearoa, New Zealand, is that we will do what we must do in the best interests of our respective countries. I know we will have many opportunities to share areas of common interest, and I hope we can.”

Her excitement reflects a global desire among progressives for a shift away from the chauvinist, right-wing populism that has shaped the past four years in the United States and other countries that elected leaders like Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil and Victor Orban in Hungary.

New Zealand offers what many see as the world’s most promising, if tiny, alternative....

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#2605605 17-Nov-2020 16:46

fwiw

Progressives in the US don't necessarily support TPP, but they're not in power and their own party possibly hates them just about as much as they hate Republicans

US trade narrative includes geostrategic considerations - China cold war, supply-chains post pandemic

Trade deals should be as wide as possible, negotiated under the World Trade Organization and not limited to a handful of TPP/RCEP countries

NZ and more so AU have an delicate balancing act of needing security from a sunsetting empire (US), and trade from an up and coming new (old) empire (CN)

In the US - right wing populism, should have been fought with left wing populism, instead of moderate centrism

gzt

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#2605646 17-Nov-2020 19:22

While we're on the topic - does anyone has a view on the pros and cons of RCEP signed this week?

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#2605657 17-Nov-2020 19:45

*apparently no one knows the details of the deal so if anyone has the details then we can talk pros and cons

*read this on either stuff or nzherald

nathan

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#2605765 17-Nov-2020 21:26

The text seems to be released, now it's signed

https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/trade/free-trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements-concluded-but-not-in-force/regional-comprehensive-economic-partnership-rcep/rcep-resources/

I've not had a chance to read detail yet, but one would assume overall China, and their long game is the winner, and overzealous IP enforcement measures means access to low cost generic medicines, is the loser

US not joining TPP, was so that other countries were forced to "choose a side". Biden can't ratify TPP without Congress, but he can rejoin the negotiations.

The free trade consensus of the past is gone, but I bet Biden will use executive order to reverse Trumps counterproductive unliteral tariffs against AU, JP, EU - no threat to US jobs, or technological supremacy, and they're US allies needed in the geopolitical contest vs CN

kingdragonfly

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#2607907 21-Nov-2020 09:05

CNN: How a 'vast ocean of goodwill' between China and Australia turned sour

Earlier this year, amid growing global anger over China's initial handling of the coronavirus pandemic, Australia was among the first countries to call for an official investigation into the virus' origins.

That was met with an angry response from Beijing, which accused Canberra of a "highly irresponsible" move that could "disrupt international cooperation in fighting the pandemic." And while China succeeded in watering down language in an eventual resolution at the World Health Assembly calling for an independent probe, it has not forgotten the slight.

In recent months, China has hit Australia with trade tariffs, targeted Australian journalists, and issued angry missives regarding Canberra's dealings with other regional powers. Speaking this week, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Canberra should take full responsibility for a "series of wrong moves related to China, which is at the root cause of China-Australia relations taking a sharp downturn."

Zhao had even more strong words Thursday, after the Five Eyes alliance -- of which Australia is a member -- criticized Beijing's recent expulsion of several Hong Kong lawmakers. "No matter how many eyes they have, five or 10 or whatever, should anyone dare to undermine China's sovereignty, security and development interests, they should be careful not to get their eyes poked out," Zhao said...

kingdragonfly

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#2607908 21-Nov-2020 09:10

Sydney Morning Herald: 'If you make China the enemy, China will be the enemy': Beijing's fresh threat to Australia

A Chinese government official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorised to speak publicly, said "why should China care about Australia?"...

The [leaked Chinese] document also takes aim at "thinly veiled allegations against China on cyber attacks without any evidence" and claims Australia was the first country without a maritime presence in the South China Sea to condemn China's actions at the United Nations. Australia followed the United States in July in branding China's claims to the disputed area "unlawful".

It also accuses MPs of "outrageous condemnations of the governing party of China and racist attacks against Chinese or Asian people" after Liberal Senator Eric Abetz demanded Chinese-Australian witnesses at a parliamentary inquiry condemn the Chinese Communist Party.

The leaked list and comments by Mr Zhao signal a significant tactical shift from Beijing. Australia has not backed away from its criticism, despite months of escalating Chinese rhetoric and verbal instructions to state-linked traders to stop importing Australian products.

The trade strikes on up to a dozen products including wine, beef, barley, timber, lobster and coal now threaten $20 billion worth of Australian exports.

China accounts for up to 40 per cent of Australia's exports and one in 13 Australian jobs, leading to rising anxiety among business figures and diplomats grappling with competing objectives: balancing Australia's national security, maintaining a military deterrent to China's regional aggression through a new defence agreement with Japan, and keeping economic lines with China open.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Wednesday said China should not be threatened by the signing of a landmark defence treaty between Australia and Japan, which paves the way for the two nations to conduct more joint military exercises throughout the Indo-Pacific....

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kingdragonfly

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#2608313 22-Nov-2020 10:50

New York Times: Fighting the pandemic and healing its economic damage dominate talks at the G20 summit.

Discussions on how to tackle the coronavirus pandemic and deal with the global economic damage it has wrought dominated the Group of 20 summit...

In private sessions, heads of state of the world’s 19 richest countries and the European Union spoke about how to ensure the equal distribution of vaccines and potential debt relief for poor countries hit hard by the virus.

..Major economies collapsed in the first half of the year, improved in the late summer and then tumbled again in a new surge of virus cases. The strains of the catastrophe — from failed businesses and elevated joblessness to disrupted education and increasing global poverty — appear likely to endure, potentially for years.

...Saudi critics lobbied G20 members to boycott the summit or use the platform to speak out about human rights. None did. Diplomats said the meeting was too important to miss, but that they often raised rights concerns with Saudi leaders privately.

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#2609221 23-Nov-2020 16:10

China may think who cares about Australia, but they forget it's Australia, NZ, USA, Canada and GB. The EU and India would likely pile in too if things got ugly.

Mike

kingdragonfly

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#2613669 1-Dec-2020 07:30

New York Times: Australia Condemns Lurid Tweet by Chinese Official as ‘Disgusting Slur’

The post, with a doctored photograph showing an Australian soldier with a knife to the throat of an Afghan child, sent relations between the two countries to a new low.

Labeling it a “disgusting slur,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia denounced on Monday what he called a fabricated image posted to Twitter by a Chinese official that showed an Australian soldier with a knife to the throat of an Afghan child.

The post, by Zhao Lijian, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, followed a damning investigation by the Australian military that found that its troops had unlawfully killed more than three dozen Afghan civilians and prisoners over an 11-year period.

Mr. Zhao’s provocation raised hostilities between the two nations to a new boil. China, fueled by a long list of grievances against Australia, which has taken a leading role in an inquiry into the origins of the pandemic, has retaliated by firing off intensifying threats and stifling its vast imports of Australian products.

Mr. Morrison told journalists, “There are undoubtedly tensions that exist between China and Australia. But this is not how you deal with them,” adding that his country had demanded an apology. “The Chinese government should be totally ashamed of this post,” he said. “It diminishes them in the world’s eyes.”...

Warning. Graphic picture. Not for children.

Fred99

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#2613746 1-Dec-2020 09:15

kingdragonfly: New York Times: Australia Condemns Lurid Tweet by Chinese Official as ‘Disgusting Slur’

The post, with a doctored photograph showing an Australian soldier with a knife to the throat of an Afghan child, sent relations between the two countries to a new low.

Labeling it a “disgusting slur,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia denounced on Monday what he called a fabricated image posted to Twitter by a Chinese official that showed an Australian soldier with a knife to the throat of an Afghan child.

Morrison has been trolled - reacted the wrong way - and had a photo (doctored or not is beside the point) of ADF troops committing war crimes published in the NYT.

Russia joined the chat - also whataboutism. IMO the reaction (if any) should be agreeing that what ADF troops did was an atrocity, and that in an open democracy, this was investigated and prosecuted.

kingdragonfly

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#2613833 1-Dec-2020 10:12

It sounds like China is picking fights with Australia. The Global Times is a daily tabloid newspaper under the auspices of the Chinese Communist Party's People's Daily newspaper

Global Times, China: Australia is turning itself into a Western hatchet man

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian on Monday posted on Twitter a cartoon circulating on Chinese social media platforms condemning Australian troops' murder of 39 innocent Afghans. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison was very angry about it, accused Zhao of offending his country, and demanded an apology from China.

I was really shocked and disgusted. How could this Australian PM be so ridiculously arrogant to pick on Chinese FM spokesperson's condemnation against the murder of innocent people? Is the murder fake news? Shouldn't that illustrator have made the cartoon? Didn't the Chinese FM spokesperson have the right to repost that cartoon to censure Australian troops' murder of innocent Afghan civilians?

The Australian government's many moves have made Australia more and more like a rural-urban continuum in Western civilization, where rogues and outlaws run wild. Whenever the leader of the West is up to something bad, it just needs to come to this place and hire some hatchet men. Afghanistan is so far away from Australia geographically, but Australian soldiers have killed as many as 39 innocent people there.

Morrison should kneel down on the ground, slap himself in the face, and kowtow to apologize to Afghans - all these should be done in a live telecast. No matter what harsh words people use on them for the murder, the Australian government should have accepted it. How dare they talk back and say they are offended!

The Morrison administration is the political hatchet man hired by the US akin to a mafia. There is no remedy in Western culture that could save them. They should be sent to the temples in Thailand, Myanmar or China's Zhoushan, get their hair shaved and chant scriptures, and be taught not to kill people first thing first. They should recite The Analects and be taught that one should not impose on others what he himself does not desire. Such an education of Eastern civilization is expected to heal their evil minds and murderous mentality.

Australian troops and fleets should leave Asia and the coastal waters of the Asian continent. More precisely, they should run as far as they can. The Morrison administration is making Australia provocative and wanting a spanking.

The author is editor-in-chief of the Global Times. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn

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ezbee

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#2614170 1-Dec-2020 16:08

RE Australian, Dirty Coal, Dumping Beef, Sugar, Wine, etc. So much for free trade agreements eh.

After monstering Vietnam fishing and oil exploration, do you see how close that dotted line goes all the way down Vietnam coast.
Then having a deadly poke at India.
China is still expanding presence near the India boarder , but in Bhutan territory now.
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/11/24/asia/china-india-bhutan-doklam-intl-hnk/index.html

It seems Australia is focus of a sustained if less deadly campaign.
Australia is small enough to pick off perhaps, but large to send a big message to others in the area, so everyone else will fall into line ?

It would not us hurt to quietly but very actively and firmly diversify trade.
At some point we are gong to be tangled up in issues around the CCP (6.5% who rule, now one leader for life ).
Hong Kong, Taiwan, Uyghurs, Tibetans, and everyday Chinese in China, where just being a human rights lawyer puts you in jail.

Most stable systems have diversity, investing in trade diversity, like investing in R&D should be part of a Nations Strategic plan.
Its a bit much to expect too much of companies themselves, next quarter results, the term of their CEO, much shorter term aims.

nathan

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#2614426 2-Dec-2020 04:59

MikeAqua:

China may think who cares about Australia, but they forget it's Australia, NZ, USA, Canada and GB. The EU and India would likely pile in too if things got ugly.

you can add Japan and Vietnam to the list too

nathan

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#2614483 2-Dec-2020 07:38

It seems US TPP negotiations, will be back on the table under Biden, with his new Treasury appointment - Wally Adeyemo

Personnel is policy - and he is THE TPP guy, the perfect globalist, ex Obama TPP chief negotiator. ex-Obama Foundation President. ex BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, Chief of Staff to the CEO

Not just doubling down, but quadrupling down on neoliberalism.

They always wanted an Obama 3rd term, and now we're getting it.

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#2614501 2-Dec-2020 08:14

In many ways the partners in TPP are better without the USA, especially as they've shown in 4 years no respect for existing global treaties and agreements.

"Globalism" and "neoliberalism" aren't synonymous. "Globalism" gives agreements on things like airliner safety. Neoliberalism - with a dose of regulatory capture - produced the 737 Max.

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