'Some seem to forget that the reason we are so close to China is that they were the ones who wanted to buy our coal & iron ore in the quantities we needed to sell to keep our economy afloat. That it is barely afloat even with these exports proves how critical the China exports are to our economy.'

true Hasbeen but largely because idiotic green ideology has made electricity prices outrageous, numerous rent seekers receiving billions to produce hopeless unreliable energy, many useless public sector jobs draining the economy and gutless conservative Governments not making a stand against this rot. When they cut abc budget in half and rid it of Marxist I think we can say we have turned the corner. Doubt whether it will be in my lifetime. My grandkids are going to be paying for this mad socialist experiment that has destroyed every country that tried it.

"Don't really care, that's between China and Taiwan".

The fact that an Australian company was dictated to as to what it called the ROC is not between China and Taiwan; it's between China and Australia.

"China has no authority to dictate what our elected leaders can and can't say …".

Well, yes they have, because our weak politicians have allowed them that authority.

"That's a issue for China and its citizens, foreigners shouldn't get involved in other nations domestic affairs."

Nobody is saying that foreigners should get involved. It is just another case of the Chinese Communist Party interfering with a Church and its persecution of Christianity generally. It should be enough for Catholic countries to avoid China.

As for it being a matter for citizens, 6.5%, or 90,000,000 of Chinese citizens (Communist Party members) decide everything for 1.4 billion Chinese citizens who get no say in anything.

China is a Communist dictatorship. No voting. No freedom of speech. Disappearances. Executions: China executes more people than the rest of the world combined

Dear runner,

You write; "but largely because idiotic green ideology has made electricity prices outrageous, numerous rent seekers receiving billions to produce hopeless unreliable energy"

So the greens are the reason Sydney businesses ended up paying twice as much for our gas as businesses in Japan? Absolute rubbish.

You are so bloody full of it mate. It is your lot who have sold this country off.

The Yanks were at least smart enough to hold on to their energy resources.

Rudd and Gillard tried to claw some of that back yet guys like you squealed like stuck pigs. You have let billionaires get away with stripping the wealth of this country, resource which would have had our manufacturing able to compete on a world stage, yet muppets like you let them get away with it.

Pretty treasonous in the end.

Hasbeen,

Two thirds, the majority, of our exports go to countries OTHER THAN China. China often puts an embargo on imports of our coal ( I believe that there is one currently in force) when they take offence at something; when we don't "bend the knee". It could be said that coal is our big weakness with regard to China; that we should man up, take a short term economic cut, and look elsewhere. But, China's economy is utterly dependent on coal, and it can't produce enough of its own. And they need the superior quality of our black coal. China is a spoilt child whose hissy fits should be faced down. The only hope for the West to deal with this awful country and communist party lies with a Trump America, if the half-wits in that country and the rest of the West will allow it.

'The Yanks were at least smart enough to hold on to their energy resources.'

yeah Steelie by giving Paris the finger. You really do rewrite history although with absolute no moral base truth never mattered to you.

China in one shipment has exported 82 tones of medical equipment from Australia and supply inferior product to other countries. They have depleted our reserves of medical supplies. They are not the benevolent big brother as some imagine, they just want to appear that way. In their mind they control Australia's economics. Which currently they do, and all politicians since Keating and Rudd have supported this. One example is our universities only survive on Chinese students. Our Government survives on exports to China.