The hostile battle between miner and federal MP Clive Palmer and China’s state-owned Citic Pacific has hurt Australia’s business dealings with China, a China and mining sector expert has told The Australian.
Philip Kirchlechner, a former executive with Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group, believes the dispute, over royalties for an $8 billion iron ore project in the Pilbara, will have a flow-on impact.
"It would be naive to think that stopping the biggest project, by the most powerful entity, in our largest export market, would have not consequences," he told The Australian.
“One of the princelings close to China's leaders said this dispute could scare off Chinese investors."
Mr Kirchlechner says the general point is one that Western society “is too litigious”, with his comments following news this week of Citic making its first ore shipment from the Sino Iron project.
That shipment was made ahead of a West Australian Supreme Court judge declaring Mr Palmer’s recent efforts to stop shipments as “absurd”.
