From The Age: ‘Cold War mindset’: Beijing suspends key government dialogue with Australia. Fascinating really since I still don’t know what the Chinese Government is aiming to punish us for.

China has taken the first formal step towards severing government ties with Australia after more than a year of incremental trade strikes, veiled threats from the Chinese embassy and escalating attacks by Chinese state media. Beijing sent a message to Australia on Thursday that all dialogue at the political level will be cut off for years after the superpower’s top economic planner suspended the China-Australia Strategic Economic Dialogue.

Actually, I do know what has gotten under their skin.

The decision to indefinitely suspend what was once a key communication channel came two weeks after China’s Foreign Ministry said it would “respond firmly and forcefully” if the Morrison government did not reverse its decision to cancel Victoria’s Belt and Road agreement.

Here I thought this B&R was a form of kind-hearted assistance program. Seems there may have been something in it for the Chinese Government that we are not being made truly aware of. Even Joe Biden is wary and that is really saying something.

The Australia-China dispute comes as the G7 group of nations meeting in London called on China to respect fundamental freedoms. Beijing has been accused by the Biden administration and some members of the European Union of human rights abuses, economic coercion and military threats against Taiwan.

How do you translate “Beware of Greeks, even bearing gifts” into Chinese?

BTW the Knight cartoon is from The Herald Sun.