Editor's note: Australia has been sending mixed signals to China. While the Australian foreign minister's visit to China from Wednesday to Friday was expected to reset bilateral ties, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison recently said that Canberra will provide loans and grants worth AU$2 billion ($1.45 billion) for Pacific island countries for infrastructure, export and security financing, which is widely seen as an attempt to offset China's influence in the region. Two experts share their views on the direction Sino-Australian ties should take with China Daily's Pan Yixuan. Excerpts follow:

Australia sends mixed signals

Australia's vigilance against China, purportedly to safeguard its national security, increased with China's rapid economic development. But Australia is not the only country to set up barriers against Chinese telecom companies due to ideological differences.

Yet by banning Huawei and ZTE from its 5G market, Australia has lost a chance to establish win-win cooperation with China in the advanced telecom field.

Despite their differences and disagreements over security, China and Australia have had close trade cooperation. More than 200 brands of Australian products were displayed at the first China International Import Expo in Shanghai last week.

Still, there are concerns that the China-US trade conflict might prompt Australia to side with its long-time ally the United States, which would further weaken Sino-Australian ties. However, even a superpower cannot formulate policies for an independent country.

And even if it feels more confident due to its alliance with Washington, Canberra may stick to its own policies－different from those of the US. For instance, Australia values global trade, because its development depends a lot on it, so it may not follow US President Donald Trump's protectionist trade policies that have done great harm to globalization. Besides, the "rules-based world order" Australia has advocated for years is contrary to the full-blown protectionist policies of the US administration.

The hyping up of the "China threat" fallacy has also divided Australian political parties and public opinions, which could prevent Australia from enjoying the fruits of economic cooperation with its largest trade partner China－which would be a pity.

Han Feng, a researcher at the National Institute of International Strategy, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences