Scott Morrison handled coronavirus by going against his political instincts. He could do the same with China

If Scott Morrison wants to know how to handle the crisis with China, he need look no further than how he has dealt with another crisis — coronavirus.

From the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Prime Minister said this was not a time for ideology. He took a pragmatic approach and shelved conservative shibboleths abut small government and limited intervention.

The man who had preached that deficits and debts were plunging the Australian economy over a cliff, now put the economy into reverse and bailed out those Australians devastated by the lockdown.

The latest national accounts figures showing we have emerged quickly from recession proves he was right.

So why not try the same approach with China?

Instead, Morrison talks more about…