Former Australian prime minister Scott Morrison will testify at a US House panel hearing about countering China’s “economic coercion against democracies”, the committee says.
Former US ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel will also testify on Wednesday (local time) before the House Select Committee on China.
Australia’s relations with China, already rocky after it banned Huawei from its 5G broadband network in 2018, cooled further after Canberra called for an independent investigation into the origins of Covid-19.
China responded by slapping tariffs on Australian commodities, including wine and barley and limited imports of Australian beef, coal and grapes, moves described by the US as “economic coercion”.
Morrison lost the 2022 federal election and resigned from parliament in January 2024. His successor, Anthony Albanese, made a six-day visit to China last week.
Reuters reported last week Canberra is close to an agreement with Beijing that would allow Australian suppliers to ship five trial canola cargoes to China, a move that would end a years-long freeze in the trade. China imposed 100 per cent tariffs on Canadian canola meal and oil this year amid strained diplomatic ties.
Emanuel has been a harsh critic of China, saying in 2024 that Beijing constantly uses coercion and pressures on other countries, including Japan and the Philippines.
“Economic coercion by China is their most persistent and pernicious tool in their toolbox,” Emanuel said in a separate speech in 2023.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately comment.
-AAP
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