Australia’s U.S. diplomat pushes back on criticism of his posture toward China

NEWS AND ANALYSIS:

Kevin Rudd, the Australian ambassador to the United States, wants to know who is criticizing him over his views of China.

The ambassador, a former prime minister, stated in a letter to the editor in response to an item in this space last week that the assertion he holds pro-China views “simply does not stand up to scrutiny.”

Mr. Rudd called out unnamed critics in the column who say he favors conciliatory policies toward Beijing and has taken steps to avoid offending China. The claims are inconsistent with his views contained in books and speeches, he said.

Retired Navy Capt. Jim Fanell, for one, strongly disagrees.

“For over two decades, Kevin Rudd has demonstrated his pro-[China] leanings,” said Mr. Fanell, a former director of intelligence for the Pacific Fleet.

“Beyond that he’s frequently written commentary for the PRC press, such as China Daily; he has also gone around the world speaking about the benefits of engagement with Beijing, despite never fully acknowledging the strategic trajectory of the Chinese Communist Party’s expansionist campaigns to complete the Great Rejuvenation of China,”
he said, using the abbreviation for People’s Republic of China.

The national rejuvenation campaign, Mr. Fanell said, has included the seizure of territory the Chinese government unilaterally assesses to be their own, from Taiwan and Japan’s Senkaku Islands in the South China Sea to disputed territory with India, Mongolia and even Russia, he said.

Mr. Fanell, co-author of the recently published book “Embracing Communist China: America’s Greatest Strategic Failure,” said Mr. Rudd has played the role of a China hand successfully in moving from prime minister to ambassador. But “he has all along behind the scenes been an advocate for Beijing’s grand strategy,” the retired officer told Inside the Ring.

Mr. Rudd’s pro-Beijing position was highlighted by a recorded conversation between Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell in Tonga last month.

Mr. Campbell was overheard telling Mr. Albanese that Mr. Rudd had lobbied the U.S. government not to get involved or sponsor a Pacific island policing initiative that would help coordinate anti-crime efforts among the islands. The deputy secretary said he spoke to Mr. Rudd and “he asked us not to do it.”

The policing initiative was launched by Australia a day after the conversation was posted on X by New Zealand reporter Lydia Lewis on Aug. 27.

In his letter to The Washington Times, Mr. Rudd did not address the issue of why he derailed the U.S. role in the police program. Instead, he said he regularly holds discussions with the Biden administration on Australia’s foreign policy priorities in the region and welcomes U.S. support for the Pacific islands, including policing.

Of his views on China, Mr. Rudd said his Sept. 4 speech to the National War College was an example of his positions.

In that speech, he argued that Chinese President Xi Jinping is reviving Marxism-Leninism, which is a “framework that causes Xi and the [Chinese Communist Party] to conclude that history is on China’s side, and that the capitalist West, led by the United States, will be swept aside, heralding, in turn, the birth of a new era in world history.”

The speech contained no criticism of China and argued that deterring a war with China over Taiwan continues to hold for now, but is questionable for the future.

“The empirical record is clear, Kevin Rudd is a ‘friend of China,’ and he has consistently been a proponent of ‘studying’ China while never completing his research with objective assessments about how the PRC’s has become increasingly belligerent on the world stage despite decades of unconstrained and unaccountable engagement from the West,” Mr. Fanell said.

Furthermore, Mr. Rudd remains an unabashed supporter of economic engagement with China without once acknowledging that such engagement has provided Beijing with the resources to build the People’s Liberation Army into a force that not only threatens Australia’s existence, but also that of the U.S., Mr. Fanell said.

“It is this kind of ‘blind’ obedience to a chivalric notion of ’engagement’ that Rudd is most culpable for and demonstrates that his head is far too high into the clouds of academic research and not firmly planted on the ground and seas of raw, military power,” he said.

Mr. Rudd has “threaded the needle politically” in supporting realist policies toward China but remains one of the Chinese Communist Party’s staunchest supporters, Mr. Fanell said, noting that he is partly to blame for the Albanese government lacking a clear understanding of the threat posed by China.

The Global Times, which is affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party, also recognized the efforts by the Albanese government to improve ties with China.

But the outlet noted that relations “may not any time soon return to the era of Paul Keating and Kevin Rudd” — a clear indication that Beijing favors those past China policies rather than those of the current government.

Guermantes Lailari, a retired Air Force foreign area officer who is currently a visiting fellow at Taiwan’s National Chengchi University, said Mr. Rudd is well known among diplomats and academics for holding pro-China positions, especially related to trade.

“One academic reminded me that when the Quad leaders officially met in 2007, Beijing was angered by its exclusion and then-Prime Minister Kevin Rudd withdrew Australia from the Quad after the first meeting,” Mr. Lailari said.

The Quad nations include the United States, Australia, India and Japan.

Mr. Lailari said a diplomat told him Mr. Rudd threatened a lawsuit “for telling the truth about Mr. Rudd’s pro-China positions.”

A veteran U.S. China expert who spoke on the condition of anonymity said Mr. Rudd, a former diplomat once based in China, suffered from a “severe case of clientitis” — favoring the country one serves in over one’s home nation.

In his current position, Mr. Rudd would be viewed in Cold War terms as a “fellow traveler” or influence agent of China, the expert said.

“I’m waiting for Rudd to disavow U.S.-Australian intelligence and strategic relationship and the AUKUS defense program, including construction of nuclear submarines, as his last official act as Australia’s ambassador to the U.S.,” the expert said.

Rubio warns on China economic threat

Sen. Marco Rubio published a report this week revealing the successes and failures of China’s global campaign to obtain technology and dominate critical markets called “Made in China 2025.”

“The Chinese Communist Party controls the largest industrial base in the world. Through theft, market distorting subsidies and strategic planning, Beijing now leads in many of the industries that will determine geopolitical supremacy in the 21st century,” the Florida Republican said. “We need a whole-of-society effort to rebuild our country, overcome the China challenge, and keep the torch of freedom lit for generations to come.”

The report concludes that China has conquered four of the 10 high-value, high-technology sectors that it set out to dominate with its program: electric vehicles, energy and power generation, high-speed railways and shipbuilding.

Beijing partially dominates five other key sectors, including aerospace and aviation, biotechnology, new materials development; robotics and machine tools and semiconductors.


The only area where China failed to achieve the domination it sought was agricultural machinery.

Overall, Chinese research leads in 37 of 44 critical technologies and is ahead of most nations in smart manufacturing.

The report urges policymakers to take steps to protect Americans from China’s predatory economic tactics. The U.S. government also should implement targeted industrial policy to rebuild the American economic base.

China restrictions pass House

The House this week passed several legislative measures that members said targeted threats posed by China.

One such measure was the Countering the PRC Malign Influence Fund Authorization Act, which authorizes funds for the State Department to partner with allies and other nations to counter the malign Chinese influence programs and debt diplomacy.

“The U.S. needs more effective and agile tools to better compete with the Chinese Communist Party around the world,” said Rep. John Moolenaar, Michigan Republican and chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.

The bill, which must still pass the Senate, would help the government to counter Chinese extensive influence operations — estimated to include annual investments of over $2 billion — and to better advance U.S. interests abroad.

Other House-passed bills seek to prevent China from obtaining Americans’ genetic data from predatory Chinese state-backed companies, and a measure restricting the Chinese drone manufacturer DJI, which has a huge share of the American commercial market.

“DJI poses a real national security risk to the U.S. given its deep partnership with the Chinese military, its expressed allegiance to the Chinese Communist Party, and its surveillance technology operating across U.S. soil,” Mr. Moolenaar said.

The House also voted to block the Department of Homeland Security from buying batteries from six Chinese companies linked to the ruling Communist Party.

“We cannot be dependent on our foremost adversary, and we must ensure the CCP can never profit from its genocide and human rights abuses,” Mr. Moolenaar said.

Another approved legislative measure would require the State Department to notify Congress 30 days in advance of any science and technology agreements with China.

• Contact Bill Gertz on X @BillGertz.