Melbourne: China, "most unhappy" with
Australia over allowing exiled Uyghur leader Rebiya Kadeer
into the country, has snubbed Canberra by cancelling high
level diplomatic exchanges, putting the already strained
bilateral ties into jeopardy.
Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said China`s
Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei had cancelled a trip to a
regional forum this month in a diplomatic snub, adding that
Australia "very much regrets" the move.
"The Chinese officials made it clear that they were
most unhappy with her visit," the Australian foreign minister
told Parliament.
"They made it clear that the visit by vice-minister He
to the Pacific Islands Forum dialogue would not take place and
that China would be represented by an ambassador."
China vehemently opposed the visit by Kadeer, whom it
accuses of inciting last month`s rioting in the restive
Xinjiang region which left at least 197 dead.
The cancellation of diplomatic visit further tests
relations between the key trading partners which were hit last
month by China`s detention of an Australian mining executive
on spying allegations. It was later downgraded to industrial
espionage.
"Australia very much regrets that China has decided
to effect that response," Smith said. "If China does take
further action as a result of allowing Rebiya Kadeer to come
to Australia, we will of course regret that."
Just weeks before Hu`s arrest in Shanghai, his
company Rio Tinto walked away from a USD 19.5 billion cash
injection, triggering an irate response in state media.
The Communist nation has effectively banned visits by
senior officials and sanctioned a press campaign against
Australia, angered by several recent decisions by the Kevin
Rudd government, such as granting a visa to Kadeer, `The
Australian` reported.
Kadeer had attended the Melbourne International Film
Festival this month.
It is believed that the Chinese have also intimated
that they may not co-operate readily with Australia over Asia
Pacific regional architecture, which would make Prime Minister
Rudd`s plan for an Asia Pacific community difficult to
achieve.
While Smith declined to comment on the Asia Pacific
matter, his office confirmed that the visit by Chinese
Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs He Yafei was cancelled over
the grant of visa to Kadeer.
Experts have told the daily that the Chinese
government was also extremely frustrated at their inability to
influence the price of iron ore imports.
Yafei had been scheduled to attend the Pacific Islands
Forum meeting in Cairns, which began on August 5, but was
replaced by the lowly ranked Wang Yongqiu, the special envoy
for the Pacific Islands Forum. It was also in marked contrast
to India, which sent its Foreign Minister S M Krishna, and the
US, which was represented by Assistant Secretary of State for
East Asia Kurt Campbell.
Bureau Report
