Anthony Albanese hoping to talk to Chinese President Xi Jinping at G20, APEC, ASEAN summits
Anthony Albanese has jetted off on an eight-day trip to talk with world leaders at three summits — and top of his wish list is a chat with China’s Xi Jinping about $20 billion in sanctions.
NSW
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Beijing must lift $20 billion in economic sanctions against Australia as a first step to stabilise relations says Anthony Albanese, declaring he will not “compromise” on values ahead of a potential meeting with his Chinese counterpart.
Speculation is mounting the Prime Minster will meet with China’s President Xi Jinping or Premier Li Keqiang on the sidelines of either the G20 summit in Bali or Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Bangkok.
Mr Albanese arrived in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Friday evening, after attending Remembrance Day events in Sydney, ahead of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit.
It is his first stop in an eight-day trip on which where he is expected to discuss pressing security and economic issues with world leaders.
Mr Albanese said he and Mr Xi would be at the same meetings but a formal bilateral was not confirmed. “Dialogue is always good, a meeting is not locked in at this point in time,” he said.
Mr Albanese said he wanted to see a “stabilisation in the relationship” with China, but Australia would not compromise on its national interests and standing up for human rights.
“What I want to see with the relationship with China is co-operation where we can, but we of course will maintain our Australian values where we must,” he said.
Mr Albanese said the first thing Australia would want from China would be for it to lift sanctions against a variety of products and resources.
“They’re not in Australia‘s interests of the wine industry, the meat industry and other industries where sanctions have been placed on, but it’s also not in the interests of China,” he said.
“This is a counter-productive measure because the products that Australia sells to China are the best quality products, in my view, in the world.”
The last prime minister to hold formal talks with Mr Xi was Malcolm Turnbull in 2017, while Scott Morrison exchanged only brief remarks with the Chinese President on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan in 2019.
There has been no leader-level contact in the three years since.
During the three summits, Mr Albanese is expected to meet with new UK PM Rishi Sunak and also possibly catch up with US President Joe Biden.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be attending the G20 summit, which will feature discussions on the economic fallout from his invasion of Ukraine.
Mr Albanese said the international community should continue to call upon Mr Putin to “back off”.
“If Russia were to withdraw, then we would see not just an improvement in the global economy, but importantly as well, it should be clear to Mr Putin that this action has led to the isolation of Russia,” he said.
“And of course, the most basic fact is that it‘s causing a loss of life and trauma and distress.”
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