9 News: Foreign Minister Penny Wong has met with her China counterpart Wang Yi in a crucial development in the tattered relationship between the two countries.

She said they both "spoke frankly" about the differences in priorities and concerns for their countries, and agreed it was crucial for the relationship to be stabilised.

Why is it crucial for a relationship with a human-rights-oppressing totalitarian regime to be stabilized?

Penny Wong: I welcome our discussion on issues of concern between our two countries, as well as the prosperity, security and stability of the region. We spoke frankly and listened carefully to each other's priorities and concerns.

Aus's concerns being money - China's being zero-criticism re their control over HK, Tibet, Xinjiang, and their desire to invade Taiwan.

I raised Australia's concerns about a range of bilateral, regional, trade and consular issues.

But not a word about human rights abuses.

Australia and China have gained much through the strength of our economic and people-to-people ties but it is in both our countries' interests for the relationship to be stabilised.

People-to-people ties - aka United Front Work Dept.

The Australian Government will always seek to resolve issues calmly and consistently under our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and in accordance with our national interests.

This is so myopic - not dissimilar to Australia's attitude to fossil fuels. In the 80's, Australia under Bob Hawke, was a world-leader in tackling fossil fuels & developing renewable energy, but after him, a succession of ALP & LNP governments championing economic rationalism, put all that into reverse. Their rationale: Why on earth would we be getting ahead of the pack when we've got all this fossil fuel to sell? It makes no (economic) sense.

It's the same with China. Why on earth would we take a stand on human rights/democratic freedoms when there's all this money to be made by simply keeping our mouths shut?

Either our leaders are so stupid that they genuinely don't realize that there is a bigger issue at hand than short term money, namely Totalitarianism Vs Freedom - or - due to Covid, they realize they have far more in common with the CCP in terms of centralizing power than they do with the messier principles of democracy. I've gotta assume it's the second one.