Who said it? Australia’s political war of words over China – quiz

(L-R) Peter Dutton, Scott Morrison, Penny Wong and Anthony Albanese. Both the Coalition and Labor have been recalibrating their China policy over the past decade. Composite: AFP/Getty Images, AAP

In an increasingly heated political debate in the lead-up to Australia’s election, claims of appeasing China and even labels of “Manchurian candidates” have flown thick and fast.

The truth is both major parties have been recalibrating their China policy over the past decade in response to what they see as a more assertive nation under Xi Jinping.

How closely have you been following the debate? Take our quiz to find out – you might be surprised at who said what along the way.

1. “I have never heard a Chinese leader declare that his country would be fully democratic by 2050 … When I listened to the President [Xi Jinping] today, some of the shadows over our region and over our world lifted and the sun did indeed shine brightly and I thank you, Mr President, for this historic, historic statement which I hope will echo right around the world.”

   1. Tony Abbott

   2. Vladimir Putin

   3. Anthony Albanese

2. “It’s wonderful to see the new Chinese ambassador coming forward with a very open approach. And I think they’ll find the Australian government’s response equally open to ensure dialogue continues strongly. We have a strong relationship with our wonderful Chinese-Australians.”

   1. Anthony Albanese

   2. Stuart Robert

   3. Penny Wong

3. “China should certainly withdraw some of the actions that have been taken to stop Australian products going to China … I hope that the ambassador would support the withdrawal of those effective sanctions which are in place, whether it be for our natural resources or our products such as wine and agricultural products as well.”

   1. Marise Payne

   2. Adam Bandt

   3. Anthony Albanese

4. “We have always understood the ‘one system, two countries’ arrangement, and we will continue to follow our policies there … ‘one country, two systems’, I should say.”

   1. Xi Jinping

   2. Tsai Ing-wen

   3. Scott Morrison

5. “Eight submarines against China when we get the submarines in 20 years’ time – it’ll be like throwing a handful of toothpicks at the mountain.”

   1. John Howard

   2. Paul Keating

   3. Gareth Evans

6. “Any kind of disagreement shouldn’t be gratuitous and partisanship for its own sake because that doesn’t advance the national interest … It’s very powerful for us to be able to stand shoulder to shoulder across the political spectrum and send a very strong message to the world that we won’t be separated on these issues of national interest.”

   1. James Paterson

   2. Kevin Rudd

   3. Tanya Plibersek

7. “I think there is bipartisan recognition of the changing geostrategic environment in the Indo-Pacific and the greater assertiveness that we’re seeing from China … The more that we can make sure that we’re united politically in how we tackle these current strategic issues I think the better it is for us as a nation.”

   1. Joe Biden

   2. Helen Haines

   3. Dan Tehan

8. “Australia is not in China to do a deal, but to be a friend. We don’t just visit because we need to, but because we want to.”

   1. Bob Hawke

   2. Julia Gillard

   3. Tony Abbott

9. “Our starting point has to be that we respect China and deeply value our relationship with China. We must seek to build it. And not just in economic terms, but also through exploring political cooperation and even defence cooperation. To define China as an enemy is a profound mistake.”

   1. Richard Marles

   2. Brendan Nelson

   3. Geoff Raby

10. “Australia is not seeking to make an enemy of any country, least of all I’d say China. We’ve got a comprehensive strategic partnership with them. Our trade with them is, while there are tensions in a number of particular areas currently, it is still at a very high level, record levels.”

    1. Richard Marles

    2. Scott Morrison

    3. Malcolm Turnbull

11. “In the absence of federal leadership on China, state premiers … have taken it upon themselves to fill the void … With the prime minister lagging behind, they have had no option but to take the lead … Starting at the top, from the prime minister down, we must bed down the relationships and the mechanisms that will see our two countries continue to prosper together.”

    1. Josh Frydenberg

    2. Daniel Andrews

    3. Anthony Albanese

12. “The question is: would we join with the US [if Beijing invaded Taiwan]? It would be inconceivable that we wouldn’t support the US in an action if the US chose to take that action. And, again, I think we should be very frank and honest about that, look at all of the facts and circumstances without pre-committing, and maybe there are circumstances where we wouldn’t take up that option, [but] I can’t conceive of those circumstances.”

    1. Andrew Hastie

    2. Peter Dutton

    3. Penny Wong

13. “The world has witnessed a growing number of horrifying reports of forced labour and human rights violations in China and in many other countries … The Morrison government should also consider targeted sanctions on foreign companies, officials and other entities known to be directly profiting from Uyghur forced labour and other human rights abuses.”

    1. Marise Payne

    2. Penny Wong

    3. George Christensen

14. “It is a ridiculous suggestion and I think it is an insult to every single Chinese-Australian in this country … They might want to dress it up as national security but I think 1.2 million Australians of Chinese heritage get the point and I don’t think they would be too impressed by it.”

    1. Scott Morrison

    2. Anthony Albanese

    3. Gladys Berejiklian

Solutions

1:A - The then prime minister, at a state dinner for Chinese president Xi Jinping in Canberra, 17 November 2014. Abbott’s praise startled China watchers who said he had misinterpreted Xi’s standard lines about democracy., 2:B - Stuart Robert, a Coalition government frontbencher, made the comments to Sky News on 27 January 2022, just hours after Peter Dutton said the government would continue to speak out about the Chinese government’s “belligerent approach”., 3:C - The Labor leader made these comments at a press conference on 27 January 2022. The government has seized on the use of the word “some” to claim Labor wants some of China’s trade actions to remain in place, a suggestion Albanese has said misinterprets his comments., 4:C - The Australian prime minister, answering specific questions about Taiwan on 6 May 2021, appeared to accidentally endorse Beijing’s ‘one country, two systems’ formula for reunification with Taiwan. Morrison later denied making a mistake, although his office said he had been talking about Hong Kong., 5:B - The former Labor PM criticised the Aukus partnership in a speech to the National Press Club on 10 November 2021. Keating has been increasingly critical of Canberra’s bipartisan consensus on China., 6:A - Paterson, the Liberal senator, made the comments after being appointed chair of parliament’s bipartisan intelligence committee on 5 February 2021. He more recently went on ABC Insiders to accuse Labor of not meeting the government’s “high bar” for bipartisanship., 7:C - The trade minister called for unity in an interview with Guardian Australia on 21 October 2021. More recently he has accused Labor of having a “forked tongue policy” on China and selling out some Australian export sectors., 8:C - The then PM made the effusive comments during a trip to China on 10 April 2014., 9:A - Labor’s deputy leader, then defence spokesperson, made these comments in Beijing on 23 September 2019, prompting Scott Morrison to label him a “Manchurian candidate” in parliamentary question time last week (before withdrawing the line). In the same speech Marles said Australia would continue to raise concerns about human rights of “the minority Uyghur population in Xinjiang, or the situation in Hong Kong”., 10:B - The PM made the comments to Sky News on 19 November 2020 as he pushed back at the so-called list of grievances issued by the Chinese embassy., 11:A - The federal Liberal MP – now treasurer – was criticising then PM Julia Gillard in an op-ed in the Australian on 7 September 2012., 12:B - The defence minister triggered controversy with this statement to the the Australian newspaper, published on 12 November 2021. He denied pre-committing Australia to war, but Labor said he was out of step with Australian bipartisan messaging and US strategic ambiguity., 13:B - Labor’s foreign affairs spokesperson urged the Coalition government to take a tougher line on human rights and forced labour on 19 April 2021., 14:A - The prime minister on 12 September 2019 attacked Labor for asking questions about the newly elected member for Chisholm, Gladys Liu, saying it was an attempt to “smear an Australian of Chinese heritage simply for the fact that she did a clumsy interview”.

Scores

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