Former ambassador says Morrison government 'almost delighted' in Chinese coercion

A former ambassador to China has sharply critiqued elements of the Morrison government's response to Beijing's coercion, saying some in the Coalition "almost delighted" in being targeted and "paraded" the famous list of 14 grievances handed over by Chinese diplomats.

Graham Fletcher has also delivered a blunt critique of China's direction under President Xi Jinping, saying it is increasingly "smug" and closed off to new ideas, while warning that ideological fixations risk sapping the country's entrepreneurial drive.

Mr Fletcher is one of Australia's most experienced China hands and was ambassador in Beijing from 2019 to 2023, a period which spanned both the collapse of bilateral ties in 2020-21 and the relationship's "stabilisation" after Labor's 2022 election victory.

Beijing responded furiously when the then-foreign minister Marise Payne called for an international inquiry into the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic, cutting off all contact with Morrison government ministers and imposing tariffs and trade barriers on Australian exports worth billions.

At the height of the dispute, Chinese embassy officials handed a list of "14 grievances" to an Australian journalist, complaining about blocks on Chinese investments, government funding for think tanks criticising China, new laws targeting foreign interference in Australia and a host of other issues.

Mr Fletcher told the Australia in the World podcast, hosted by Australian National University academic Darren Lim, that China kicked an "own goal" by issuing the demands.

"It was like a free kick for us to say, 'Don't be silly; you're asking us to change who we are,'" he said.

"That won't happen, and that's unreasonable."

But he also said it was not a formal list of demands from the Chinese government, and that they were "overplayed" by Australian commentators and politicians who revelled in the conflict rather than seeking a diplomatic resolution.

"And my view was: well, we are where we are. And I would prefer we're not but now that we are, let's not stay here.

"And let's not keep digging ourselves further."

Mr Fletcher did not name Scott Morrison but appeared to take aim at the former prime minister, who repeatedly showed other world leaders a copy of the 14 demands at bilateral and multilateral meetings overseas.

"I heard one of our government members laminated the list and would give it to people when that person was overseas," he said.

"That digs you in deeper to where you don't really want to stay."

Mr Fletcher said the ALP's election in 2022 created a circuit breaker, allowing both sides to reset the relationship without losing face.

He said that required compromise on both sides, including in Australia.

"There were people on our side who wanted to win, that wanted China to be shamed, embarrassed, defeated," he told the podcast.

"For them to admit, and apologise. Just like China wanted us to [apologise] — it's just not going to happen!"

The former ambassador also reflected on the increasingly authoritarian political climate in China, suggesting that the government's ideological fixations were damaging its prospects.

"They're kind of locking themselves into a fairly narrow channel of thought when it comes to development and the political conditions, and certainly their society," he said.

Mr Fletcher said when he first served in China in the 1980s, while the country was opening up its economy, Chinese officials were "very much open to new ideas" and keen to talk to outsiders.

He contrasted that to the current political moment in China, telling the podcast that Xi Jinping's fixation on ideological control and state control over the economy "comes at a cost".

"That satisfaction, or smugness even, in terms of their own progress — which has been remarkable — leads them to be a bit too satisfied with the status quo," he said.

"Most thoughtful observers of China would recommend that they continue to challenge their own assumptions… they could be doing a lot better, if only they were prepared to be more open in their own minds."

Mr Fletcher said while there was still dynamism and energy in Chinese society and the economy, the ideological rigidity was also becoming a "drag on their system and growth".

"That's the downside of so much emphasis on propaganda and ideology is that it boxes people in," he said.

"Officials and state-owned enterprises and private entrepreneurs are more risk averse because they can see the downside of getting out of line."