【By Qi Qian, Observer Net】According to the UK's The Guardian and Reuters, former Australian Prime Minister Morrison will attend a hearing held by the U.S. House of Representatives' "China Issues Special Committee" next Wednesday (23rd) to testify on how to deal with so-called "economic coercion".

The "China Issues Special Committee" is an ad hoc committee established by the U.S. House of Representatives in January 2023 specifically targeting China. Since its establishment, it has produced many "anti-China" issues that defame China. Since taking over as chairman of the committee, Michigan Republican Congressman John Moolenaar has prioritized ending the relationship between the two countries.

The report said that former U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Ram Emanuelle, who was known for a series of "anti-China" remarks during his tenure, will also attend the hearing.

In February last year, Morrison attended the meeting of the "Transnational Parliamentary Alliance on China Policy" held in Tokyo, Japan. Visual China

In 2018, Morrison succeeded Turnbull, who resigned, and became the Prime Minister. In 2019, Morrison was elected as the leader of the ruling Liberal Party and began a four-year prime ministerial term.

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) once recalled that during his tenure, the Morrison government had particularly tense relations with China, Australia's largest trading partner. In April 2020, Morrison requested an investigation into the origin of the novel coronavirus in China, which caused strong dissatisfaction from both the Chinese public and government, leading to a low point in Sino-Australian relations, and bilateral trade was also affected.

In terms of foreign and security policies, the Morrison government took a tough stance towards China, binding itself to the U.S. "Indo-Pacific Strategy" as a strategic cornerstone, and actively promoted the "Quad" with the U.S., Japan, and India, and signed the "AUKUS" nuclear submarine agreement with the U.S. and the U.K. in 2021, trying to establish an exclusive "small circle" in the region to contain China.

However, the Australian Financial Review (AFR) stated that due to his poor handling of the 2019-2020 bushfires, controversial policies in controlling the pandemic, and a sexual harassment scandal exposed in Parliament, Morrison's popularity dropped sharply, and he eventually lost the election in 2022. Soon after, Australian media revealed that Morrison had secretly appointed himself as Minister of Health, Finance, Resources, Internal Affairs, and Treasury during the pandemic, while most cabinet members, parliamentarians, and the public were unaware of this, causing a public outcry.

In January this year, Morrison, then a backbench member of the Liberal Party in the House of Representatives, announced on social media that he would leave parliament at the end of February, ending his 16-year political career, "to take on new challenges in international companies."

Morrison revealed that he will take on a series of global strategic advisory and private board positions, focusing on the United States and the "Indo-Pacific region" where he has experience and networks, and also spend more time with his family.

Morrison had previously been reported to want to exit politics. AFR stated that after losing the election, Morrison wanted to leave politics, but he spent some time finding a job. The report also mentioned that after former Prime Minister Howard revised the regulations regarding MPs' pensions, besides former Prime Minister and millionaire Turnbull, Morrison was the first former Prime Minister without the right to receive parliamentary pensions.

On July 16, Albanese visited the Great Wall with his partner. Oriental IC

Just as Morrison planned to go to the United States, Australian Prime Minister Albanese has just completed an official visit to China, which was his second visit to China as Prime Minister. Strengthening Sino-Australian economic and trade cooperation was the core agenda of Albanese's visit. He clearly stated before departing: "The relationship with China means creating jobs for Australia, that's it."

Reuters mentioned that recently, a person familiar with the Australian agricultural industry revealed that China may reach an agreement with Australia to allow Australian suppliers to conduct trial shipments of canola cargo to China, and Sino-Australian canola trade is expected to be restored.

Regarding Sino-Australian trade and economic relations, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian stated on July 16 at a regular press conference that China has always believed that trade and economic cooperation is the ballast of Sino-Australian relations. China is willing to work with Australia to provide a fair, open, and non-discriminatory business environment for enterprises of both countries to invest and operate in each other's countries, and promote the continuous development of Sino-Australian trade and economic cooperation.

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