PM right to stand ground on FIRB

As Anthony Albanese basks in his outwardly glowing reception in China – where Communist Party mouthpiece Global Times enthused about “Looking forward to seeing China-Australia relations cruise steadily in the ‘stratosphere’ ” – it is Premier Li Qiang who has cut to the chase, signalling China’s real agenda. At his first meeting with the Prime Minister in the Great Hall of the People late on Tuesday, and again on Wednesday, Mr Li pressed Mr Albanese to treat Chinese companies in a “fair, open and non-discriminatory” manner to “solve the problems encountered by enterprises in market access, investment review and other aspects”. President Xi Jinping did not raise the issue of ownership of the Port of Darwin when he met Mr Albanese on Tuesday. Nor, directly, did Mr Li. But Chinese state media remains concerned about Mr Albanese’s commitment to end Chinese company Landbridge’s ownership of the asset. The subtext of the issue runs much deeper than ownership of the port, however. It extends to issues such as artificial intelligence. Mr Li admitted as much when he said the bilateral economic relationship should expand into AI and other hi-tech areas. Critical minerals are another sensitive area of interest.

While building the bilateral trading relationship has been an important focus of Mr Albanese’s six-day trip, Beijing’s push to extend economic relations with Australia to include AI, in particular, must continue to be resisted. As Australian Strategic Policy Institute senior analyst Fergus Ryan wrote in The Australian in early July: “Under Chinese law, firms are compelled to co-operate with the state, giving the Chinese Communist Party not only capability but also a demonstrated intent to turn commercial tools into surveillance and influence systems. The idea of integrating Chinese AI firms bound by those rules more fully into Australia’s digital ecosystem should raise alarm bells in Canberra.”

Before Mr Albanese’s departure for China, Jim Chalmers rightly doubled down on the Foreign Investment Review Board’s vigilance over Chinese investment in other sensitive sectors. “It takes a closer look at investments which are proposed in critical areas,” the Treasurer said. “Critical minerals, critical infrastructure, critical data, critical energy. For good reason.” It would be unlikely, Dr Chalmers said, “that we would weaken our arrangements in those critical areas”. In the same vein, Mr Albanese stood firm on Wednesday, pushing back on Mr Li’s critique by insisting that China was not being singled out: “We have a case-by-case issue when it comes to foreign investment (which) is viewed not on the basis of any one country but on the basis of an objective assessment of our national interest.” Critical minerals are vital in modern manufacturing, communications and defence technologies.

Mr Albanese also was refreshingly resolute about Australia’s strategic position, reiterating that the nation needed the deterrent of nuclear submarines through the AUKUS pact with the US and Britain that is aimed squarely at countering China’s massive military build-up in the Indo-Pacific. “We need a defence force and we make no apologies for investing in our capability to give Australia the defence and security assets that we need,” he said. While he revelled in his government’s improved relations with China and following in the footsteps of Labor hero Gough Whitlam in 1971, his AUKUS and foreign investment comments added an important note of realism to his China visit. Upgrading the nation’s defences and reinvigorating our relationship with the US must be one of the government’s main focuses after he returns and parliament resumes.