‘We don’t see hostile intent from China’: Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull plays nice with Beijing before visiting US
He said the aim of the trip – which will include security talks – is to deepen the two countries’ relationship
China is not a threat to Australia because it lacks “any hostile intent”, Malcolm Turnbull has said as he embarks on his US visit.
Speaking to Sky News on Thursday, the Australian prime minister sought to play down a more hostile approach to China by the US, rejecting the “out-of-date cold-war prism” of seeing the two superpowers as in competition.
Turnbull said the aim of the trip – which will include regional security talks and a delegation of Australian premiers and business leaders attending the National Governors Association conference – is to “broaden and deepen” the relationship with the US.
Asked if the US viewed China as a “strategic threat”, unlike Australia, Turnbull replied that “a threat is a combination of capability and intent”.
“China has enormous capability, and of course it’s growing [as it becomes] more prosperous … but we do not see any hostile intent from China,” he said. “We do not describe China as a threat.”
Of course there are issues between Washington and Beijing, and there always will be
Turnbull said Australia and US President Donald Trump did not view the Asia-Pacific region “through an out-of-date cold-war prism”, citing Trump’s business experience to demonstrate he “understands the economic significance of China’s rise and its opportunity”.
