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.
When asked on Thursday about the election, Xiao said the Chinese government has “a policy, it’s a policy of principle, that we never interfere with the domestic affairs of any country”.
“The election of this country is the domestic affair of Australia,” he said.
“We have no intention, no interest to get involved. We have no choice of this party or that party. But whoever is going to be the ruling party after the election, we are looking forward to a more positive relationship.”
Xiao insisted that Beijing would be willing to work with the winning party in the election “to put our relationship back on the right track, back to the right direction, so that China and Australia can move forward to the benefit of our two countries and peoples”.
But despite making an overture last month for the two countries to “meet each other halfway”, he is yet to publicly spell out any tangible actions Beijing may be willing to take, for example reversing tariffs on Australian wine and barley that are subject to a World Trade Organization challenge.
Xiao arrived in Canberra in January after years of increasing tensions between the two countries over a range of issues including trade, security and human rights.
Australia’s laws against foreign interference have been one source of tension with Beijing. The former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull singled out China when he introduced that bill to the lower house, and said Australia was right to defend its sovereignty.
“Media reports have suggested that the Chinese Communist party has been working to covertly interfere with our media, our universities and even the decisions of elected representatives right here in this building,” Turnbull told parliament in 2017. “We take these reports very seriously.”
The head of Asio, Mike Burgess, said in his annual threat assessment speech last month that the security agency had foiled an alleged foreign interference plot.
Burgess told reporters that foreign interference was “an increasing concern” but said he was confident Australian authorities were ready to counter any attempts to interfere with this year’s election.
The spy chief said: “Attempts at political interference are not confined to one side of politics, and you’d be surprised by the range of countries involved.”
Xiao Qian spoke briefly to reporters after an event at the Chinese embassy in Canberra on Thursday, taking just three questions.
Asked what representations the Australian government had made to him over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and what his response had been, Xiao said the situation was “very, very complicated”.
He called for Nato and Russia to talk about developing a “a more efficient, sustainable security mechanism in Europe” where both sides felt safe. Both Morrison and the Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, have said there is no justification for Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.
Xiao said China had been “trying our best to play a constructive role” including encouraging dialogue and negotiations and offering humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
In the past few weeks, Xiao has met with both the foreign affairs minister, Marise Payne, and the Labor senator Penny Wong. Payne and Wong have expressed their openness to dialogue while saying Australia won’t take a backward step on matters of national interest, security and sovereignty.
Xiao said he was “very sad to see” that there were political problems in the relationship between Australia and China, and “this is not what the Chinese side would like to see”.
In an implicit rejection of Canberra’s view that Beijing’s more assertive approach was responsible for the spiral in the relationship, Xiao said: “On the part of China, our policy towards Australia remains unchanged. We are here to seek a friend.”
But he said he was “ready to engage more with our friends and colleagues from our Australian side”.
