Clare Armstrong: Anthony Albanese’s China visit undercut by Australia’s economic woes

Anthony Albanese is in the middle of one of his most significant ventures as PM, but economic woes at home are undercutting the enormity of his China visit, writes Clare Armstrong.

Anthony Albanese is in the middle of one of his most significant ventures as PM, but economic woes at home are undercutting the enormity of his visit to China.

Just as the PM is wrapping up his Beijing trip the Reserve Bank board will decide on Tuesday whether to yet again raise interest rates.

Money markets have now priced in an almost 70 per cent chance that the RBA will lift the cash rate 25 basis points.

Australia’s substantial leap forward in stabilising relations with Xi Jinping’s China will mean little to households plunged into mortgage stress six weeks out from Christmas.

With the Voice disaster still raw, soaring living costs, labour shortages, a ridiculously tight housing and rental market and multiple wars, Labor’s 2022 election honeymoon is firmly in the rear-view mirror.

China's Premier Li Qiang and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the 6th China International Import Expo in Shanghai. Picture: Hector Retamal/AFP

Even as the government dutifully ticked off election promises like cheaper childcare and access to medicines, its household budget saving policies have been constantly outpaced by current events.

Growing voter discontent has only been exacerbated by the perception Albanese has not been focused on household issues.

Of all the summits and international visits Albanese has embarked on, none compare to the significance of his trip to China.

Australian journalist Cheng Lei. Picture: ABC.

It is the culmination of an 18-month pivot toward stabilising relations with the Chinese government and follows several recent diplomatic wins for Australia, including the release of journalist Cheng Lei and easing of trade blocks on some $20 billion worth of exports.

Intractable disagreement on national security, international law and order, sovereignty, human rights and defence are the new normal, so consistent diplomatic relations are more important than ever.

With peace and security in the Indo-Pacific as fragile as it has ever been in the modern era, it is untenable for Australian officials to go another three years with minimal or no high-level Chinese contact.

Australia will soon join the Philippines on joint military patrols in contested parts of the South China Sea. Such developments make it even more important for the Albanese government to have a clear line of communication with Beijing.

But the risk of military conflict in the Indo-Pacific, economic coercion in the region, corporate espionage and the myriad of other threats posed by China are not exactly front-of-mind issues for most Australians.

That the majority of the electorate is not attuned to issues abroad is not unusual, but with so much economic trouble domestically the PM faces outright hostility about his travels – no matter how important.

Albanese heading straight from China to the Cook Islands for the Pacific Island Forum and then a second trip to the US this month for the APEC leaders summit will have his detractors apoplectic.

When on Australian shores he will need to step up efforts to connect prosperity at home to strong relationships abroad.

Originally published as Clare Armstrong: Anthony Albanese’s China visit undercut by Australia’s economic woes