PM Anthony Albanese issues warning to China at Quad meeting

The new PM has told China it must remove its sanctions on Australian products if the two countries are ever to improve relations.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has warned China the only way to improve its relationship with Australia is by removing trade bans.

After years of strained diplomatic relations between the two countries, the incoming Prime Minister told the Quad meeting his government, on behalf of Australia, would seek good relations with all countries – but would not be soft on China.

In his address, Mr Albanese urged Beijing to lift trade tariffs it imposed on Australian goods such as barley, wine, coal and seafood.

“Australia seeks good relations with all countries,” Mr Albanese said in Tokyo.

“But it’s not Australia that’s changed, China has. It is China that has placed sanctions on Australia.

“There is no justification for doing that. And that’s why they should be removed.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong have warned China they will need to scrap their ‘unjustified’ sanctions if Australia is to have a relationship with them. Picture: Issei Kato – Pool/Getty Images)

Mr Albanese’s first comments as Prime Minister about China comes as he confirmed he had received a letter of congratulations from Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.

The Quad leaders, which include US President Joe Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, reaffirmed their commitment to a secure and peaceful Indo-Pacific at the meeting on Tuesday.

In a joint statement, the four leaders directly referenced China’s military expansion in the South China Sea and its claims over Taiwan.

“We strongly oppose any coercive, provocative, or unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo and increase tensions in the area, such as the militarisation of disputed features,” the statement read.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with US President Joe Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio at the Quad Leaders Summit in Tokyo. Picture: SAUL LOEB / AFP)

Earlier this week, Mr Biden confirmed the US was prepared to “get involved militarily” to defend Taiwan if China did make good on its threats to invade.

Mr Albanese said there was no change in Australia’s position that there should be “no unilateral change to the status quo” but would not explicitly detail the issue of a military response.

The incoming Prime Minister’s demands of China, and the Quad meeting as a whole – comes as Chinese officials travel to the Solomon Islands to make further security plans.

The security arrangement was also a topic of conversation at the Quad.