Australia Tears Up Belt and Road Deals With Beijing

Australia Tears Up Belt and Road Deals With Beijing
Senator Marise Payne appears before the Additional Estimates 2020–21 Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee in the Main Committee Room at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on March 22, 2021. Sam Mooy/Getty Images
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Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne on April 21 officially canceled the state of Victoria’s controversial Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) deals with Beijing, saying they weren’t consistent with national interest.

Payne exercised recently granted powers under Australia’s Foreign Relations Act to ax four deals in total, all between the Victorian state government and foreign regimes, including Iran, Syria, and China.

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