Australian treasurer provokes China, risks wellbeing of Australian people: Australian Financial Review

CANBERRA - Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg was risking the wellbeing of the Australian by provoking China with the so-called "China plus" strategy, reported the Australian Financial Review, citing a Chinese scholar.

"The so-called 'China plus' strategy is in essence 'China minus'," Chen Hong, director of Australian Studies Center in the East China Normal University, was quoted by the business-focused daily as saying.

"Frydenberg is purposely trying to dictate Australian businesses to redesign themselves for an economy without China," Chen said.

"This is a war cry for substantive decoupling, which shows Canberra's determination to position China as an adversary, not a partner," he added.

Frydenberg alleged on Monday that China's combination of economic power and global connection poses "new and significant challenges for many countries", and Australian businesses should not "overly rely on one country".

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin urged the Australian side to abandon the Cold War mentality and ideological bias, stop playing up "coercive China" narrative for selfish political gains, and do more to enhance mutual trust and promote practical cooperation between the two countries.