【文/观察者网 齐倩】据英国《卫报》和路透社7月19日报道，前澳大利亚总理莫里森将于下周三（23日）出席美国众议院“中国问题特别委员会”举行的听证会，就应对所谓“经济胁迫”问题作证。
“中国问题特别委员会”是2023年1月美国国会众议院专门成立的针对中国的特设委员会，成立至今炮制了诸多抹黑中国的“反华”议题。自接任该委员会主席以来，密歇根州共和党籍众议员约翰·穆莱纳尔一直以结束两国的合作关系为优先事项。
报道称，任内以一系列“反华”暴论出名的前美国驻日本大使拉姆·伊曼纽尔也将出席听证会。
去年2月，莫里森出席在日本东京举行的“对华政策跨国议会联盟”会议
2018年，莫里森接替辞职的特恩布尔并开始担任总理一职。2019年，莫里森成功当选执政党自由党党首，并开启长达四年的总理生涯。
英国广播公司（BBC）曾回顾称，在任期间，莫里森政府与澳大利亚最大的贸易伙伴中国的关系尤为不和。2020年4月，莫里森要求对华发起新冠病毒溯源调查，引发中国民间及政府的强烈不满，造成中澳关系陷入低谷，双边贸易也受到影响。
在外交和安保政策上，莫里森政府对华立场强硬，将与美国的“印太战略”捆绑作为战略支点，不遗余力地与美国、日本、印度推进“四方安全对话”（QUAD），并在2021年与美国、英国签署了“奥库斯”（AUKUS）核潜艇协议，试图在地区建立排他性的“小圈子”围堵中国。
However, the Australian Financial Review (AFR) reported that due to his administration’s inadequate response to bushfires from 2019 to 2020, controversial policies on controlling the COVID-19 pandemic, and a sexual assault scandal exposed by Congress, Morrison’s approval ratings plummeted, ultimately leading to his defeat in the 2022 general election. Shortly afterward, Australian media revealed that Morrison had secretly appointed himself as the Minister of Health, Finance, Resources, Home Affairs, and Treasury during the pandemic, while most cabinet members, parliament, and the public remained unaware, sparking widespread outrage.
In January this year, Morrison, then a member of the Liberal Party’s backbench, announced on social media that he would leave Parliament at the end of February to embark on a new challenge in international business.
Morrison disclosed that he would take up a series of global strategic advisory and private board positions in the future, focusing on the United States and the “Indo-Pacific” regions with which he has experience and networks. He also plans to spend more time with his family.
Morrison had previously been rumored about his intention to retire from politics. The AFR reported that after losing the election, Morrison had wanted to leave politics but took some time to find a job. It was also mentioned that, following former Prime Minister Howard’s amendments to the pension regulations for MPs, except for the former Prime Minister and millionaire Turnbull, Morrison was the first former Prime Minister without the qualification to receive parliamentary pensions.
On July 16th, Albanese visited the Great Wall with his partner.
As Morrison planned to head to the United States, Australia’s Prime Minister Albanese had just concluded his official visit to China, marking his second visit as Prime Minister. The core agenda of Albanese’s visit was to strengthen economic and trade cooperation with China. Before departing, he openly stated: “The relationship with China means creating job opportunities for Australia, that’s it.
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Reuters reported that recent insiders in the Australian agricultural industry revealed that China might have reached an agreement with Australia to allow Australian suppliers to trial-deliver rapeseed goods to China, potentially reviving trade between the two countries.
Regarding China-Australia economic and trade relations, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian stated at a routine meeting on July 16 that China consistently believes that economic and trade cooperation is the cornerstone of China-Australia relations. China is willing to work with Australia to provide a fair, open, and non-discriminatory business environment for enterprises from both countries to invest and operate in each other’s countries, promoting the continuous development of economic and trade cooperation between the two nations.