Ten Reasons Australians Should Be Concerned About China

When politician Clive Palmer claimed in January that the Liberal National Party (LNP) in Queensland was ready to offload state owned power networks to the Chinese, he hit a nerve in the electorate.

Chinese Paramilitary police stand guard in Tiananmen Square on June 4, 2014 in Beijing, China. Sydney think tank the Lowy Institute indicates there is underlying concern about China’s growing influence in the region. Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

SYDNEY—When politician Clive Palmer claimed in January that the Liberal National Party (LNP) in Queensland was ready to offload state owned power networks to the Chinese, he hit a nerve in the electorate.

The China-owned State Grid had just appointed HSBC to act for the company to buy $50 billion worth of assets that the Queensland and NSW Governments want to sell.

A pedestrian walks past the logo of HSBC outside a branch of the bank in Hong Kong on July 8, 2014. Philippe Lopez/AFP/Getty Images