The Dragon and the Kangaroo: Australia’s ambivalent place in China’s foreign policy thinking

China’s use of geo-economics has been widely studied in the context of its relations with great powers and developing regions like the Global South. Less attention has been given to how China engages with middle powers. China’s bilateral relationship with Australia is complex, in part due to the dual-track policy Canberra maintains. Through critical FPA, this work performs a case analysis on China’s relationship with Australia, to assess similarities and differences in China’s treatment of Australia vis-á-vis neighboring countries under China’s peripheral diplomacy. Findings from this thesis show that China views Australia as a strategically useful, non-prioritized partner. Chinae engages through a mix of economic cooperation and coercion and involving it in multilateral forums primarily for instrumental purposes. In doing so, this work adds to the academic literature at the intersection of Chinese foreign policy thinking and middle powers, as well as provides practical implications...Show moreChina’s use of geo-economics has been widely studied in the context of its relations with great powers and developing regions like the Global South. Less attention has been given to how China engages with middle powers. China’s bilateral relationship with Australia is complex, in part due to the dual-track policy Canberra maintains. Through critical FPA, this work performs a case analysis on China’s relationship with Australia, to assess similarities and differences in China’s treatment of Australia vis-á-vis neighboring countries under China’s peripheral diplomacy. Findings from this thesis show that China views Australia as a strategically useful, non-prioritized partner. Chinae engages through a mix of economic cooperation and coercion and involving it in multilateral forums primarily for instrumental purposes. In doing so, this work adds to the academic literature at the intersection of Chinese foreign policy thinking and middle powers, as well as provides practical implications for Australian policymakers in arguing middle power theory has limited explanatory power in the Chinese-Australian context from a Chinese perspective.Show less

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The Dragon and the Kangaroo: Australia’s ambivalent place in China’s foreign policy thinking