Chinese investment in Australia almost halved in 2019, new data released Monday showed, as relations between the two countries deteriorated.

Researchers from the Australian National University said Chinese investment Down Under plunged from Aus$4.8 billion (US$3.5 billion) to just Aus$2.5 billion last year.

Professor Peter Drysdale, who led the data research, said the Aus$1.43 billion purchase of infant formula producer Bellamy's Australia by China's Mengniu Dairy accounted for more than half of that investment.

It was the third consecutive year that Chinese investment in Australia dropped since peaking at Aus$15.8 billion in 2016.

The steep fall far outpaced a global decline in China's overseas ventures of 9.8 percent last year, reflecting the bilateral political tensions, Drysdale said.

"(In) the last few years, clearly Chinese investors have found the investment environment in Australia less certain and have been more cautious about undertaking investment in Australia," he told AFP.

In June, Australia announced tougher measures to block or overturn new foreign investments deemed to compromise national security -- a move widely viewed as an effort to limit growing Chinese influence.

The country has barred Chinese telecoms giant Huawei from being a major player in its 5G rollout owing to concerns about its relationship with state security agencies, a decision that riled Beijing.

Drysdale said structural changes were also partly to blame, with Chinese investors retreating from mining and resources as the commodity boom weakened.

While Chinese investment in Australian real estate and agriculture also fell in 2019, the ANU researchers found some "modest gains" in the construction, education and finance sectors.

Drysdale said it was important for Australia to consider how to reverse the "continuing downward trend" due to the key role of foreign investment in supporting economic growth and trade.

"Whether that can be changed quickly or not is another question altogether because it very much depends on how purposeful (an) approach there is to mending the relationship between the two countries," he said.

Sino-Australian relations have nosedived in recent months after a series of diplomatic clashes.

Beijing was particularly infuriated by Canberra's role in international calls for a probe into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, which emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

China -- Australia's biggest trade partner -- has since imposed tariffs on Australian products from beef to barley and has discouraged Chinese students and tourists from heading Down Under.

EU and China talk trade despite rifts
Brussels (AFP) Sept 14, 2020 - EU leaders will talk to Chinese President Xi Jinping seeking trade and investment Monday, despite tensions over Hong Kong's freedoms and Beijing's treatment of its Uighur minority.

Chinese officials, EU chiefs Charles Michel and Ursula von der Leyen and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will hold a video-conference to replace a full summit with all 27 EU leaders cancelled because of coronavirus.

China says an investment deal -- already seven years in the making -- can be agreed this year, but EU officials warn obstacles remain and insist they will not swallow unfavourable terms simply to cut a deal.

"Even if there is a political objective to accelerate negotiations and conclude them by the end of the year, we will have this only if it is something worth having," an EU official said.

Brussels says "significant progress" has been made in talks since a similar video summit in June, and officials hope to agree a roadmap to a deal by the end of the year -- they also want Beijing to improve market access for European companies.

"The EU must define its own interests, and must be strong and independent of both China and the United States," French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told the German weekly Welt am Sonntag.

Brussels wants to reinforce respect for intellectual property, to end obligations to transfer technology and to reduce subsidies for Chinese public enterprises.

- China-US tensions -

No major breakthrough is expected on Monday but the EU side hopes to persuade Xi to give fresh political impetus to the talks -- and to allow his negotiators more room to compromise.

The meeting comes as ties between China and the US deteriorate, with both sides locked in fierce recriminations over trade disputes, human rights and the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.

Washington and Beijing have imposed curbs on each other's diplomats, after another tit-for-tat move in July when the two governments ordered the closure of consulates in Houston and Chengdu.

Both sides have sought to enlist the EU in their spat and, during a visit to Brussels by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in June, EU diplomatic chief Josep Borrell mooted talks to forge a common transatlantic front against China.

But little progress has been made on this initiative and broadly Brussels has preferred a middle path, treating Beijing as both a potential partner and a "systemic rival".

"The EU stands firm on its interests and values but also wants to cooperate with China," a senior EU official said.

- Hong Kong -

The EU will press Xi on Hong Kong, where Beijing has imposed a controversial new security law -- a move denounced by the West as an assault on the city's freedoms.

After the June summit, von der Leyen warned China would face "very negative consequences" if it pressed ahead with the law and the EU would limit exports to Hong Kong of equipment that could be used for surveillance and repression.

European concerns about Beijing's rights record are growing. During a visit by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Berlin earlier this month, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas called China out over Hong Kong and its treatment of minority Uighurs.

But the European Union is far from united on how to deal with China, with some member states urging a tougher stance on rights and the environment, and others wanting to boost trade.

But China as its own concerns.

China announced Saturday it was banning imports of pork products from Germany after the European country confirmed its first case of African swine fever.

Germany is Europe's biggest pork producer and recently saw a surge in demand from China after it suffered an outbreak of the same disease.

Meanwhile, Beijing has used its mammoth "Belt and Road" infrastructure scheme to effectively pick off investment-hungry EU member states such as Greece, Portugal and Italy.

Related Links
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Serbia drops out of war games with Russia in Belarus
Belgrade (AFP) Sept 9, 2020
Serbia has dropped out of planned military drills in Belarus with Russia after pressure from the EU, the Balkan state's defence minister said Wednesday. Serbia - an EU candidate country that also maintains close ties with Moscow - was due to participate in the 'Slavic Brotherhood 2020' exercise with Russian and Belarusian troops this month. "We are asked, at the cost of leaving our European future... to abandon the planned military exercises with Belarus," said Serbia's Defence Minister Aleksa ... read more