Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

When Australia's new Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull made controversial remarks over the South China Sea, arguing that Beijing should ease off on island construction in the waters instead of "pushing the envelope there," he triggered complicated sentiments in China toward him and concerns over his future China policy.

Not long ago, there were overwhelming number of reports predicting that Turnbull would be "pro-China." But this wasn't defined so by himself, but by the Chinese side. Some Chinese scholars and media speculated this based on his previous statements. It showed China's goodwill in hoping for a more friendly relationship with Australia. Nonetheless, it is undeniable that labeling Turnbull pro-China was only a subjective assumption. 

Turnbull has been sworn in as the new prime minister, and has formed a new parliament. However, the country's ruling party has stayed the same, its government has stayed the same, and its foreign minister has stayed the same. So its foreign policy will likely stay the same.

That said, we should not extend the change of leadership within the party to Sino-Australian ties. For one thing, Turnbull's statement shares the same position on the South China Sea as his predecessor Tony Abbott. For another, due to his Chinese-born daughter-in-law, there are a series of conjectures over his stance on the future China policy from both inside and outside of Australia. Therefore, he might have wanted to clarify his political neutrality as well as his loyalty to his nation through such a statement.

Nevertheless, Australia's policy toward China, or its entire foreign policy, is not Turnbull's focus right now. He doesn't even have time to consider these factors, because his major test at present is the country's domestic policy.

Turnbull's leadership challenge to Abbott reflected the divergences within the party's factions. Turnbull won by only 54 votes to 44, which means that he faces strong internal opposition. If he fails to win support from those who opposed him in the party leadership contest, all he has is less than one and a half years in office.

The conservative policies conducted by the previous coalition cabinet failed. There was no major progress in the fields of education, medical care, insurance and manufacturing industry. Hence, Turnbull's background can provide an opportunity to improve the cabinet's ruling ability, for he has not only rich business experience, but also legal skills. The nation is now in need of such a leader who is familiar with both, in order to lead the country to more breakthroughs.

Australia is one part of the Asia-Pacific region. The area's economic development and long-term prosperity benefit the country. If any conflict occurs, Canberra would be bound to suffer. Thus, it shares consensus with China in terms of regional stability.

It should be noted that when Turnbull was saying friendly remarks about Beijing, he was communications minister of Australia. Facing the huge market in China, there was no way for him to disparage Beijing. For now, China has not only emerged as an important overseas investor for Australia, but also has become the country's largest trading partner. If Canberra wants to boost the nation's economy, Beijing's role cannot be neglected.

Moreover, Turnbull has business experience in both China and the West. Therefore, he should have known how to combine Australia's structural adjustments with economic advantages from both China and the West. As a head of state, Turnbull will be bound to consider problems based on his own country's national interests.

The author is a professor and deputy director-general at the National Institute of International Strategy, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn