'Australia's cancelling of BRI agreements benefits none'

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Sydney, April 25 (IANS) Australian federal government's decision of tearing up Victoria State's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) agreements with China will bring negative impacts on the relations and cooperation between the two countries, according to influential social and official opinions in Australia.

"It's very hard to see any positive outlook for Australia-China relations, you know, given these latest developments," Professor James Laurenceson from the Australia-China Relations Institute of the University of Technology Sydney, told Xinhua.

The cooperation between the two countries in other fields may also be affected, which is unfavourable to both sides, the professor added.

According to Australian media, a Victorian government spokeswoman said "the Foreign Relations Act is entirely a matter for the Commonwealth government," adding that "Victoria will continue to work hard to deliver jobs, trade and economic opportunities for our state."

Canberra "should remain wary of locking itself into an adversarial relationship with its largest trading partner while its alliance partner's ultimate strategy toward China remains a work in progress," Michael Clarke, associate professor of Crawford School of Public Policy in the Australian National University, wrote in an article published on the website of Conversation.

"I feel this is a stupid action as it is detrimental both to self and others," Australia-China Friendship Society Victorian Vice-President Rendi Liu was quoted as saying by the ABC news.

He added that the government was putting its own domestic political interests before those of the nation.

--IANS

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