China Australia Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

China is deeply concerned about the continuing discrimination against Asian people including overseas Chinese in Australia, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday, urging Australia to face the problem and take concrete measures to strengthen education of citizens. 

The discrimination against Chinese in Australia has posed a serious threat to the safety and legitimate rights of Chinese people in the country, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at Wednesday's media briefing. 

We hope Australia will face up to the problem, take concrete measures to strengthen education of its citizens and properly resolve the issues of racism and discrimination and protect the safety and legitimate rights of Chinese in Australia, Wang said. 

Wang's remarks were made after a report from Australian think tank the Lowy Institute suggested that 37 percent of Chinese-Australians felt they had been treated differently or less favorably because of their heritage. The report pointed to the souring China-Australia relationship and the COVID-19 as driving forces, AFP reported. 

China's Ministry of Education issued a fresh warning on studying in Australia in February due to the recent anti-Chinese attacks in the country and the serious COVID-19 epidemic, and in June 2020, China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued a travel alert warning Chinese people not to travel to Australia. 

The minister of the Chinese Embassy in Australia Wang Xining said in an article published on Monday that the embassy has released a lot of information about Chinese and Australian people helping each other during the COVID-19 epidemic, which was ignored by Australian media. 

Meanwhile, their deliberate smears against China turned out to be complete nonsense, but unfortunately the damage has been done, and the image of China's friends has been severely harmed.

Chinese observers believe that Australian media outlets and politicians who followed Trumpism have soured China-Australian relations.

Global Times