Global Times recently reported that the Australian government has refused the Chinese bid to acquire a controlling interest in Ausgrid, which is Australia’s largest electricity network. The government cited worries over national security. China’s State Grid Corp and Hong Kong’s Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings (CKI) were jointly attempting to buy a 50.4 percent controlling stake in Ausgrid, which is New South Wales’s electricity distribution network. Australia’s nationalist politicians and the media continued to hype the national security “threat” and asked, “Why does communist China want to own our electricity grid?” Some Australian analysts thought that the decision might hurt Australia’s relationship with China. In 2012, the two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Strengthening Cooperation in Infrastructure Construction in 2012. Now that the Chinese companies have come up with the money, Australia suddenly has gotten this paranoia about “long term strategic risks.”
Source: Global Times, August 13, 2016
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