Wong wants Australia to have more say in avoiding US-China conflict
Foreign Minister Penny Wong says Australia will strive to increase its global influence and have more of a say in helping US-China avoid “escalation” after a successful trip to Beijing.
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Australia will strive to increase its global influence and have more of a say in how the US and China can avoid dangerous “miscalculations” or “escalation” in the Indo-Pacific, says Foreign Minister Penny Wong.
Ensuring increased competition in the region does not lead to conflict will be an ongoing focus of Australia’s international efforts in the new year, as well as continuing to stabilise the relationship with Beijing and re-engaging with Southeast Asia.
Speaking in Australia just hours after her return from a whirlwind one-day trip to Beijing for a meeting with her Chinese counterpart, Ms Wong told News Corp using Australia’s influence to support “guardrails” that protect peace and security in the region would be a priority.
“Having more of a say, to tell the major powers, ‘we want you to make sure that you do all you can to avoid miscalculation and escalation’ is probably a pretty good thing for us,” she said.
Ms Wong has previously urged other small and medium countries in the Indo-Pacific to encourage both the US and China to manage their competition to ensure it does not lead to conflict.
Other priorities for the government include co-operation through the AUKUS pact and the Quad to “maximise stability in the region.
Ms Wong has made 28 visits to 24 countries in her first seven months in the role, and has only three Pacific nations left to visit – Kiribati, New Caledonia and Tuvalu – all of which are on her 2023 to-do list.
Reflecting on her busy travel schedule, Ms Wong said she felt it was important to capitalise on the momentum created as a result of the “newness” of the Albanese Government.
“You have people who are interested in engaging … and I really wanted to leverage that for the country,” she said.
“We came to government with a very clear view about needing to work to make Australia stronger and more influential in the world.
“Given the sort of shift that we needed to make … the time was an opportunity that needed to be used.”
Ms Wong said she had focused most of her early efforts on “showing up” in the Pacific and listening to local perspectives, renewing relationships in the region and exploring mutually beneficial economic opportunities.
In the wake of her trip to Beijing – the first visit to China for any minister since 2019 – Ms Wong said she had sought to “change the dynamics” of the relationship without resiling from Australia’s national interest and values.
“We have different interests, and we’re not going to step away from them,” she said.
“We can control what we do, and we can’t control what the Chinese do.”
Ms Wong said the government “still had a lot of work to do” on the relationship, but had made promising progress.
“I think we’ve made a lot of ground in terms of establishing the channels of communication … and enabling that dialogue for the management of some of the many difficult issues,” she said.
WONG CONCERNED ABOUT JAILED AUSSIES IN CHINA
It comes as Australia has asked for two prominent citizens jailed in China to be reunited with their families “as soon as possible” and advocated for the resumption of consular access to foreigners in prison.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong raised Australia’s concerns about the ongoing detention of Australian journalist Cheng Lei and writer Dr Yang Hengjun during a formal bilateral meeting with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing on Wednesday.
“We advocate for a range of things,” Ms Wong said after the 90-minute meeting.
“They include for those Australians to be reunited with their families as soon as possible, but we also advocate for the observance of consular agreements.”
Ms Wong confirmed she also discussed human rights issues, including in Tibet, Hong Kong and the treatment of the Uyghur population in Xinjiang.
“Australia believes … human rights are universal,” she said.
Ms Wong signalled there would be further developments on various trade issues related to “blockages” impacting about $20 billion worth of Australian exports following her meeting with Mr Wang.
“In the context of trade, there was a discussion about opportunities for further dialogue to work through how we might do, what I think is in the best interest of both countries and consumers … and certainly in terms of Australian exporters and Chinese consumers, and that is for the trade blockages to be removed,” she said.
Ms Wong reiterated her hope that dialogue between Australia and China become more “structured” after years without high-level governmental and diplomatic contact.
“Dialogue is a prerequisite for managing this relationship wisely,” she said.
In his opening statement, Mr Wang acknowledged the Australia-China relationship had suffered “difficulties and setbacks” recently.
He said the “lessons must be learned” and insisted there was no “historical grievance”, or “fundamental conflicts of interests” between the two countries.
Mr Wang said co-operation served the “fundamental interests” of Australia and China, and was “good for peace and development in Asia Pacific and beyond”.
Diplomats have not been able to visit the Australian detainees since September after China enforced a total ban on consular access for all countries to all prisoners due to a surge in Covid cases.
Australia’s Ambassador to China Graham Fletcher told News Corp consular officials were particularly focused on regaining access to detained citizens.
“At the moment because China is experiencing a (Covid) surge, it has unfortunately stopped regular (consular) access to all prisoners … for all countries. We are protesting vigorously about that,” he said.
The ambassador said in recent years “China has learned that Australia has a sense of itself and a national interest”.
But he said he believed Australia was in “good position now” to “repair” the relationship and collaborate on “worthwhile” initiatives.
“There are lots of things that Australia and China can work well together on … like climate change, renewables (and) health,” he said.
China-Australia Chamber of Commerce in Beijing chair Vaughn Barber said Australian businesses operating in China had identified the troubled bilateral relationship as a top risk affecting their investment decisions regarding the major trading partner.
“The opportunity to stabilise relations is highly welcomed by the Australian business community here in China,” he said.
“This is a positive step forward.”
Mr Barber said he was “cautiously optimistic” about the prospects of further improvements next year.
The meeting between Ms Wong and Mr Wang was the sixth Australia-China foreign and strategic dialogue, which was last held in 2018.
Wednesday also marked the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
During her one-day visit to Beijing, Ms Wong also took part in a ceremony commemorating the anniversary and held video meetings with Australian embassy workers to thank them for their efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic.
‘ICE THAWS’: AUSTRALIA’S NEXT STEP WITH CHINA
Australia wants annual leaders meetings with China to resume as one of several next steps to thawing relations after a years-long diplomatic freeze.
Ms Wong was briefed by Australia’s Ambassador to China Graham Fletcher ahead of her meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on Wednesday, with the pair making it clear they wanted annual talks between leaders, as well as economic and trade ministers, to restart.
“The ice thaws, but slowly,” observed Ms Wong to Mr Fletcher as they walked around the partially-frozen ponds of the Diaoyutai Gardens on a brisk -6C Wednesday morning.
The last Australia-China strategic leaders meeting was between former prime minister Scott Morrison and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Bangkok, Thailand in 2019.
Mr Fletcher said following the foreign ministry meeting it was hoped other elements of the strategic partnership would resume, including meetings between leaders and economic ministers.
“Another key element is the Strategic Economic Dialogue, which brings the Treasurer and the Trade Minister together with their counterparts here,” he said.
“Those three elements jointly let us cover the full spectrum of our interests here in the relationship which as you know are very broad.”
Ms Wong said the resumption talks would “provide an opportunity to have the discussion between those different ministers about the trade issues”.
Partially frozen ornamental man-made ponds and rivulets run throughout the more than 20 buildings of the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse compound in Beijing’s Haidian District where Ms Wong and the Australian delegation are staying.
The fenced off compound is frequently used by the Chinese Government to host visiting dignitaries, operating as a Covid-19 “bubble” during the pandemic.
Ms Wong thanked Mr Fletcher and the staff at the embassy for their hard work over recent years in challenging circumstances.
“It’s been a difficult period in the relationship and a difficult period because of all the Covid lockdowns,” Ms Wong said.
Shortly after she arrived, Ms Wong said it was “very good” to be in China “after quite a long time between visits”.
“I acknowledge and thank the government of the People’s Republic of China for the invitation to be here so that we can spend the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between our two countries,” she said.
“I look forward to the meeting which we have to (discuss) the issues that are important to us.”
Ms Wong was due to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday afternoon, as well as taking part in a ceremony and dinner marking the anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Speaking on the tarmac after arriving in Beijing, Ms Wong said she would not pre-empt outcomes from the meeting, but confirmed she would raise issues related to consular cases, human rights and trade concerns.
“I think the mark of success is dialogue itself,” she said.
“We obviously have a lot of issues to work through and dialogue is a prerequisite for working them through.”
Ms Wong said she would continue to “advocate for the Australians detained as always”.
Asked about human rights, Ms Wong said Australia “always raises the issue of human rights at all levels as appropriate”.
She said Australia believed it was “in the interest both countries for the trade impediments to be removed”.
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