APEC summit: How Australia was freed from China’s diplomatic ‘freezer’

US ambassador Kevin Rudd signals China’s next big task as Anthony Albanese prepares to jet to San Francisco for the APEC summit.

Australia was freed from China’s diplomatic “freezer” without giving anything up, according to US ambassador Kevin Rudd, who says Beijing realised it was “losing far too many friends” with its “wolf warrior diplomacy”.

But the former prime minister says China must now stabilise its relationship with the US, starting with resuming military-to-military communication after three years of radio silence and toning down its aggression in the Taiwan Strait.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meets with China’s President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on November 6. Picture: AAP

Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to hold four hours of talks with US President Joe Biden in San Francisco on Thursday in his first visit to the US since 2017, as Anthony Albanese also jets in for the APEC summit.

The Prime Minister will kick off the visit by meeting Microsoft boss Satya Nadella, after the tech giant announced a $5bn investment in Australia, ahead of high-level talks with leaders from APEC’s 21 member economies which make up 75 per cent of Australia’s trade.

Dr Rudd said the Australian government’s effort to repair its relationship with China was “quite analogous to what the Biden administration has been seeking to do,” after what he said was a “ridiculous period” where Australian ministers were shut out by Beijing.

Speaking at the Asia Society in New York, Australia’s ambassador to the US welcomed the “concrete steps in stabilisation” that culminated in Mr Albanese’s meeting with Mr Xi earlier this month.

Dr Rudd said the Chinese government realised it had “overreached” with its aggressive brand of diplomacy, and that Australia was “not for turning”.

“In fact, if you try to tell Australians what to do by the application of coercive pressure, it’s likely to have the reverse effect,” he said, arguing that the Albanese government did not “change any policy posture on anything” to repair relations with Beijing.

Mr Albanese said Australia exported $6bn of products to China between January and August that had been subject to trade bans, compared to $85m during the same period last year.

“That means jobs in Australia,” he told Labor MPs on Tuesday.

Trade Minister Don Farrell, who is already at APEC, said he was “very confident” that remaining trade impediments on Australian beef and lobster would be lifted by Christmas

Kevin Rudd speaking at the Asia Society in New York, pictured with Daniel Russel. Picture: Supplied

.

Dr Rudd said he hoped Mr Xi would be willing to take steps to stabilise the US-China relationship, including restoring military communication at ministerial and operational levels.

“This is really dangerous … Every time there’s an incident, no one’s there to pick up the phone,” Dr Rudd said.

“Those of us who follow this closely have been urging our Chinese friends to get these dialogue channels back open.”

Chinese jets conducted more than 180 risky intercepts of US aircraft in the Pacific in the past two years, with pilots swooping within five metres and even flipping their middle finger.

Dr Rudd also called on Mr Xi to pare back China’s military exercises in the Taiwan Strait, rather than upping the pressure on Taiwan around its presidential election next year.

He said “taking the global geopolitical temperature down” was in China’s interests, including to rekindle foreign investor confidence amid a difficult domestic economic slowdown.

Originally published as APEC summit: How Australia was freed from China’s diplomatic ‘freezer’