We are pleased to announce the launch of Let’s Trade, Not Argue: An Australian Perspective on Building a Respectful Relationship with China, co-authored by Security & Defence PLuS Executive Director Dr Ian Langford, and Bob Breen. This timely book was published in March 2025 by Echo Books.
Trade should be the foundation of Australia’s relationship with China rather than an argument over loyalty to the United States. Under nationalist Xi Jinping, China may not maintain positive ties with Australia if it continues to align with America during President Trump’s second term, leading to trade embargos and cyber-attacks. Australia is unprepared to stand up to this type of escalation.
The book presents a strategy for countering grey zone escalation by inviting trade instead of argument, supported by uncomfortable consequences for non-acceptance.
Australia’s Powerful Owl symbolises this strategy. With acute night vision and hearing, it is an apex predator that flies low and hard to defend its domain and can capture prey ten times its weight.
The book proposes an Australian middle power strategy inspired by the Powerful Owl.
It emphasises situational awareness, stealth, and the ability to detect, observe, and deter. If deterrence fails, the strategy preempts and de-escalates tensions to restore a trading relationship. If that doesn’t work, it advocates for capabilities to enhance Australia’s persuasiveness to trade and not argue by ten.
Described by Dr Alan Dupont AO as a “must-read book for anyone interested in the defining contest for power between democratic and autocratic states,” Let’s Trade, Not Argue is available for purchase on Amazon and through other retailers.