Is the future of Australia and New Zealand really as NATO forts, armed to the teeth glaring menacingly at an ever-rising China?

Are we risking what we cannot afford to lose by failing to see the world around us is changing rapidly and that we may be backing the wrong horse? Our instinctive allegiance to a US hell-bent on escalation to maintain primacy risks the people Down Under getting a comeuppance of terrible proportions.

This month, China hosted most of the Eurasian nations at the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation summit in Tianjin. The SCO states: “ Tectonic shifts are underway in global politics, economy, and other spheres of international relations. A fairer multipolar world order is being born.” The sight of so many leaders, including those of Russia, China, Iran, India and Turkiye, was a powerful signal that the Eurasian landmass is emerging from centuries of Western domination to become the powerhouse of global economics and politics for the coming century.

Many of the leaders also attended the eye-popping 80th anniversary military displays a day or two later that reminded the world of China’s enormous sacrifices and crucial role in defeating Japan in World War II. It was also an emphatic message to the West of its status as a global superpower to rival the US.

Disrespecting China is not a strategy, it’s posturing

None of our leaders attended these events but two former New Zealand prime ministers, Helen Clark (Labour) and John Key (National), attended the parades and met President Xi. Former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr attended the event but not the military parade.  All were criticised for doing so by our Pentagon-compliant media but should be commended for keeping alive the notion of diplomacy. There are legitimate concerns about China’s rise and its conduct in the world, but attempting to ostracise the greatest industrial power on the planet — and our most important trading partner — is gormless and futile.

Whilst pledging to continue China’s peaceful development, President Xi said in his address that the world has to choose between peace and war. He called on the nations of the world to “eliminate the root cause of........

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