China Panic

Book excerpt: In 2014, Chinese president Xi Jinping said there was an ‘ocean of goodwill’ between our country and his. Since then, that ocean has shown dramatic signs of freezing over. Australia is in the grip of a China panic. How did we get here, and what’s the way out? In this brilliant book, David Brophy takes apart Australia’s China debate – its strange alliances and diplomatic failures. Justified criticism of China has too often given way to paranoia and exaggeration. While the xenophobic right hovers in the wings, some of the loudest voices decrying Chinese subversion come, unexpectedly, from the left. They call for new security laws, increased scrutiny of Chinese Australians and, if necessary, military force – a prescription for a sharp rightward turn in Australian politics. In China Panic, Brophy offers a progressive alternative. Instead of punitive moves and chest-beating that will only make Australia more like China, we need solutions and strategies that strengthen Australian democracy. ‘The most stimulating book I've read on the most important question facing Australian foreign and strategic policy. Brophy is not just answering questions others have asked, he's asking new questions.’—Allan Gyngell, author of Fear of Abandonment ‘Anyone who wants to know how and why Australia’s China narrative has descended to such a dismal point needs to read China Panic.’—Wanning Sun, professor of media and communications, UTS ‘David Brophy dissects the clichés and prejudices . . . China Panic is essential reading.’’—Linda Jaivin, author of The Shortest History of China