China’s new ambassador to Australia has declared Beijing has no intention of interfering in the upcoming federal election, saying it has “no choice of this party or that party”.
Xiao Qian, who arrived in Canberra in January, also stopped short of condemning Russia over the invasion of Ukraine, despite calls from both major parties in Australia for Beijing to press Moscow to end the war.
The prime minister, Scott Morrison, has been seeking to campaign on tough national security credentials ahead of the election, which is due in May. He and his defence minister, Peter Dutton, told parliament last month that the Chinese Communist party had “picked their horse” in the election and that Labor was the “preferred partner”, despite both parties having similar policies on China.
