Palmer retreats then fires again
Clive Palmer has sought to retreat from his "Chinese mongrels" claims while repeating criticisms of Australia's biggest trading partner.
As a leading Chinese paper called for sanctions on Mr Palmer and his senior executives, the Queensland billionaire used a statement to explain himself.
It comes after Mr Palmer's appearance on the ABC's Q&A show when he labelled his estranged business partner CITIC "Chinese mongrels" and bastards.
That prompted condemnation from both sides of politics and the business community.
Mr Palmer's statement said he was a long-time admirer of China, its culture, technology and economic development.
He drew the line at CITIC being involved in a campaign to drive down Australian wages.
"What is unacceptable is a Chinese state-owned enterprise that abuses the legal system for commercial gain in a global strategic effort to control resources," Mr Palmer said. "I cannot support any deterioration of the living standards or the wage systems that any Australian or other person living in this country are entitled to under Australian law."
He issued the statement several hours after taking aim at the Chinese Government on Perth radio station 6PR for trying to take the State's minerals.
"We're not talking about Chinese people, we're talking about the Chinese Communist Government who are suppressing the people and there are no human rights in China and who are trying to take WA resources. That's the Government," Mr Palmer said.
Pressed on Perth ABC on the comments of his defence spokeswoman Jacqui Lambie that Australia needed missiles to protect itself from a Chinese attack, Mr Palmer simply ended the interview. "I don't want to talk about that because I don't have to. Goodbye," he told presenter Geoff Hutchison.
Mr Palmer was the focus of an attack by the Government-run Chinese English newspaper the Global Times, which this year chided Foreign Minister Julie Bishop as a fool.
It called Mr Palmer a "prancing provocateur" whose comments were the last straw for Sino-Australian relations.
It said China should consider cutting all business contacts with Mr Palmer, ban him and his senior executives from the country and put sanctions on any Australian companies doing business with Palmer firms to show there was a price to pay.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Australia's relationship with China remained strong despite Mr Palmer.
He said all politicians should be constructive but sometimes they were not and Mr Palmer's outburst on ABC TV was over the top, shrill and wrong.
