The federal government has forced the Victorian state government to hand over documents related to a secret deal signed between the state and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that involves the state’s infrastructure projects. This is the third deal between Victoria and the CCP that the federal government is scrutinising under the Foreign Relations Bill that will see arrangements with all foreign nations at each level of government vetoed if they aren’t in Australia’s national interests. Signed in March 2017—18 months before the Belt and Road Initiative was signed—the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Victoria and the CCP commits the Australian state to work with Beijing on Victorian infrastructure projects through public-private partnerships (PPPs). According to Michael Shoebridge, foreign policy expert at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, public-private partnerships and the Belt and Road Initiative pose a national security risk as the regime plans for a “China-centred global economy.” “China …