Steve Bannon

US President Donald Trump’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon recently conducted an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, claiming that Australia is on the frontline of the clash with China. Bannon thinks Australia is in a fight for the ages that will decide whether Western nations can keep their sovereignty against “Chinese intrusion,” and accused China of turning Australia into its “economic colony.”

In the interview published July 9, Bannon warned that Australia has made the mistake of “playing by the rules” with China, and urged Australia to “wake up” as the US has done.

However, The Herald clearly disagrees with Bannon’s claims. The newspaper pointed out that Australia’s trade position is vastly different. It said that while Trump bemoans America’s trade deficit with China, Australia earns a hefty annual surplus from trade with China.

Now, Trump is reportedly preparing an additional $200 billion of trade sanctions on China, and the former White House chief strategist has given this strategy a ringing endorsement. According to the newspaper, Bannon is now a coach and adviser to populist movements worldwide.

The newspaper published an editorial on July 10 headlined “Ignore Bannon’s hysteria over China,” stressing that Australia should ignore Bannon’s advice if it means deliberately provoking China with shrill rhetoric.

The editorial said that Bannon is no longer in the White House but his remarks provide a worrying insight into the thinking there.

The editorial believes that Australia is not at war with China – whether real or economic, and stressed that Australia does not want to fight against China.

The editorial said that Australia derives significant benefit in exporting to China and receiving Chinese foreign investment and hosting Chinese foreign students. It also said that beyond economics, Australia will need to work with China on issues from de-escalating nuclear tension in the Korea Peninsula to development aid in the South Pacific.

The editorial said that Australia has shown that its policy of playing by the rules is not a liability but the only way to handle China.

A reader commented on the Chinese-language People's Daily app that Bannon is like a Talebearer, and said we should ignore his little trick. It is obvious that people on both sides despise him.