China Blasts Australia Minister’s Criticism of ‘Useless’ Projects
- Minister criticizes Chinese development in Pacific islands
- Beijing says comments irresponsible, launches offical protest
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China has lodged a formal protest over comments made by a senior member of Australian Prime Minister Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s government criticizing the Asian nation’s infrastructure-construction policy in the Pacific.
Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, his minister for international development, said in an interview with the Australian newspaper on Wednesday that China had been lending to Pacific nations on unfavorable terms and constructing “useless buildings” and “roads to nowhere.”