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A senior diplomat from the US embassy in Canberra, Michael Goldman, says the US has ‘enormous respect’ for the way Australia has stood up to China’s ‘economic coercion’.Summary
One of Washington's top diplomats in Canberra says that the United States has great respect for how Australia has handled ongoing trade and diplomatic tensions with China. Speaking on the Australian National University's national security podcast, career US diplomat Michael Goldman said the US has 'enormous respect for the way Australia has stood up to China's 'economic coercion'. China was unhappy with Australia following Canberra's call for an international Covid-19 inquiry. Goldman stated that 'we really can't expect to have substantial improvements in our relationship with China while it's holding hostage the economies of our partner nations'.During the interview, Mr Goldman discussed ongoing tensions between China and Taiwan and Canberra's role in assisting the US with any conflict involving the two Asian nations. He also spoke of a 'revitalised' Quad, a grouping of the US, Australia, India and Japan.
