Shanghai/Canberra | Anthony Albanese has rebuffed US pressure to commit to defending Taiwan from attack, overshadowing a six-day visit to China aimed at bolstering economic ties with Australia’s biggest trading partner.

But the prime minister said private discussions with the Trump administration were already in progress about how the AUKUS nuclear defence pact would work, insisting the increase in military spending and the acquisition of submarines were intended to prevent war, not cause it.