China swoons over Anthony Albanese amid Joe Biden’s spy balloon ‘smears’

Beijing used its first public comments after an unprecedented threat from Joe Biden to heap praise on Australia’s PM.

Beijing officials used their first public comments after Joe Biden’s unprecedented China warning to heap praise on Australia and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as “fundamental” to peace in the Indo-Pacific “and beyond”.

The morning after the US president’s State of the Union address, China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning used her highly-choreographed press conference to highlight a softball question from a Communist Party-controlled broadcaster to call Australia-Sino relations as key to avoiding global conflict.

China’s opening salvo, its first chance to publicly address Mr Biden’s warnings against breaching US sovereignty following the incursion of a spy balloon, was conspicuous for its timing and focus on “mutual respect” with Australia, just months after relations began to thaw, while later blasting Mr Biden’s “smears”.

US President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address. Picture: AFP

Asked by Chinese Central Television (CCTV), established by the CCP as a propaganda outlet, to respond to positive February 7 comments from Mr Albanese about meetings between trade ministers, Ms Ning said China was ready to “shelve” and “manage differences” with Australia.

“The sound and steady growth of ties between our two countries serves the fundamental interests of both peoples and helps advance peace, stability and prosperity in the region and beyond,” she said.

“Based on the principle of mutual respect, mutual benefit and seeking common ground while shelving differences, we are ready to launch or resume dialogue and communication with Australia in various sectors, expand co-operation, manage differences, and strive to rebuild trust and bring bilateral relations back to the right track.”

China’s seemingly sudden warmth to Australia stands in stark contrast to fraying relations between Chairman Xi Jinping and Mr Biden, who used his State of the Union address to “make no apologies” for making America strong in the face of competition from Beijing.

“If China threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country,” Mr Biden said, referencing the downing of the Chinese surveillance satellite that traversed the full length of the continental US.

Anthony Albanese meets China's President Xi Jinping in a bilateral meeting during the 2022 G20 summit in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia. Picture: Supplied

Responding to Mr Biden’s address, Ms Ning said repeated mentions of competition with China were used “as a pretext to smear” the country in a zero-sum game.

“The world is big enough for the two countries to develop themselves and prosper together,” she said.

“China does not shy away or flinch from competition. However, we are opposed to defining the entire China-US relations by competition. It is beneath a responsible country to use competition as a pretext to smear other countries and restrain their legitimate right to development, even at the expense of global industrial and supply chains.”

US President Joe Biden and China's President Xi Jinping meet on the sidelines of the G20 Summit. Picture: AFP

She said that China would handle US relations with “peaceful coexistence”, while matching Biden’s threat of force by adding: “At the same time, we will firmly defend our sovereignty, security and development interests.”

The back and forth between China and the US, and Beijing’s apparent attempts to thrust Australia in the middle, come amid increased tensions over Taiwan, trade disputes, and the sudden discovery of massive spy balloons navigating the globe.

Ning repeated that China had “lodged a stern protest” over the US’s downing of the “unmanned Chinese civilian airship by force”.

“I would also like to stress that exaggerating or hyping up the ‘China threat’ narrative is not conducive to building trust or improving ties between our two countries, nor can it make the US safer,” Ning said.

China’s state-controlled newspaper Global Times also gushed over the latest comments from Mr Albanese during his meetings with New Zealand’s new Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins, this week.

Mr Albanese said Australia’s position on China was to “co-operate where we can” and “disagree where we must” in the national interest.

The Global Times claimed the new Australian government’s change of attitude toward China “will help Australia safeguard its own interests”.

“However, some experts warned that it is impossible for Australia to turn from an extreme negative stance to a positive one at a time when the US has been very strict in containing and suppressing China,” it added.