Anthony Albanese meets Xi Jinping in China
Xi Jinping has told Anthony Albanese that Australia-China relations have ‘embarked on the right path’, hours after the PM refused to say whether he trusted the dictator.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has told Anthony Albanese that Australia-China relations have “embarked on the right path” and are being conducted in “a more mature way”, just hours after the Prime Minister refused to say whether he trusted the Chinese dictator.
Mr Xi thanked Mr Albanese for working to “stabilise and improve relations” with China, saying his visit built on foundations laid by former Labor prime minister Gough Whitlam – the first Australian leader to visit China 50 years ago.
“This visit shows the great importance you attach to relations with China,” Mr Xi said at the opening of the leaders’ long-awaited meeting in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People.
“In China we often say when drinking water we should not forget those who dug the well. The Chinese people will not forget prime minister Whitlam for digging the well for us. And now we are embracing a new 50 years in China-Australia relations.
“So your visit at this time is highly significant as it builds on the past and ushers in the future.”
Mr Xi said that, at their first meeting in Bali last year, Mr Albanese had said “the two sides should advance co-operation in a more harmonious way to achieve mutual benefit”.
“And that left me a deep impression,” Mr Xi said. “This is also what we want. Mutual benefit.
“Back then, we both agreed to engage with each other in a more mature way between the two countries.”
Mr Xi said a stable relationship between the countries served their common interests and “meets the common expectation of countries in our region”.
“It is important that we keep moving forward the comprehensive strategic partnership between our two countries,” the Chinese President said.
“Trade is flowing more freely to the benefit of both countries,” the Prime Minister said.
“We’ve started a range of dialogues and the tempo of bilateral visits is increasing.
“Australia, along with other countries in the region, has an interest in continued stable growth in the Chinese economy, and its ongoing engagement with the world.
“And I believe that we can all benefit from the greater understanding that comes from high-level dialogue and people-to-people links.”
Mr Albanese earlier cast Mr Xi as a dependable counterpart but stopped short of saying he could trust the Chinese President, who has purged domestic rivals, spooked regional neighbours and challenged US global leadership.
The leaders’ meeting lasted for more than an hour, which was longer than originally scheduled.
Mr Albanese later said their talks were “very positive”, and said he had invited Mr Xi to visit Australia at a “mutually beneficial time”.
Mr Albanese said Australia’s improving relations with China were already showing economic benefits, with trade in previously sanctioned Australian exports rising to $6bn between January and August compared to $85m last year.
“This is about Australian jobs and Australia’s economic interests, but it’s also about our national security interests,” he said.
“We have an interest in there being dialogue and in there being understanding and one of the things that I raised … (was the need for) guardrails and military-to-military co-operation between the United States and China.”
“He has never said anything to me that has not been done. And that’s a positive way that you have to start off dealing with people,” Mr Albanese said.
“But we recognise as well that we come with different political systems, very different values … and different histories. But we deal with each other at face value … My job is to represent Australia’s national interests. He is the leader of a different nation with different interests.”
Asked again after the meeting whether he could trust the Chinese leader, Mr Albanese said: “It’s not a matter of people wearing a hat here. It’s building a relationship. That’s what’s going on here. You build a relationship by engaging.”
His comments followed US President Joe Biden’s warning at the White House less than a fortnight ago for him to “trust – but verify” the Chinese President’s words.
Mr Albanese said Mr Xi did not ask anything of him, declaring their meeting “wasn’t transactional”.
The Chinese leader raised his country’s bid to join the trans-Pacific trading bloc, but did not ask for Australia’s backing for China’s bid, Mr Albanese said.
Ahead of meeting Mr Xi, Mr Albanese met China’s No. 3 leader, National People’s Congress chairman Zhao Leji, who told him Beijing was ready to improve relations with Australia “to deliver greater benefits to our two countries and peoples”.
Mr Zhao praised Mr Albanese, saying he had dedicated his first term to stabilising Australia-China ties.
“The sound and steady growth of China-Australia relations meet the fundamental interests of our two peoples,” Mr Zhao said.
“It is also conducive to promoting peace, stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific and beyond.”
The Prime Minister said there was “so much we can do together”, but noted that the countries’ differences must be “navigated wisely, with respect”.
“I believe that we all benefit from the greater understanding that comes from high-level dialogue,” Mr Albanese said.
Mr Albanese reiterated Australia’s commitment to the AUKUS nuclear submarine partnership, which is aimed squarely at countering Chinese military capabilities in the Indo-Pacific, declaring “we’re busy implementing it”.
“We think that AUKUS is in Australia’s national interests. We also think that AUKUS is a vehicle to promote security, peace and stability in the region,” the Prime Minister said.
He said Australia had to deal with growing strategic competition, but, quoting the Biden administration’s most influential China adviser Kurt Campbell, declared “diplomacy is back”.
“We engage in that way in Australia’s national interest,” he said. “It is in our interests to have positive relations.”
Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said earlier on Monday that Australia needed to be clear with Beijing that it had to overcome huge hurdles to join the 11-nation pact.
“The first of those is that in the immediate term, China has acted in bad faith, abusing trade agreements and weaponising trade against Australia in recent years,” Senator Birmingham said.
He said Australia “shouldn’t be thankful for Beijing lifting trade sanctions that should never have been imposed in the first place”, and called on Mr Albanese to “demonstrate strength and substance” in the relationship rather than “ceremonial symbolism”.
“Australians expect outcomes and they expect us to put very clearly and firmly Australia’s expectations and concerns in relation to China’s coercive attempts at trade sanctions against Australia, China’s militarisation and risky activity within our region, and other threats and challenges posed, including the way China pursues various forms of cyber activities and human rights activities and abuses within its own country,” Senator Birmingham said.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Labor had delivered on its policy to improve the Australia-China relationship, which disintegrated from 2016 amid a Turnbull government crackdown on Chinese foreign interference and the Morrison government’s call for an independent inquiry into the origins of Covid-19.
“Before the election, we said to the Australian people we would work to stabilise the relationship with China without compromising our sovereign interests – and that’s what we’ve done,” Senator Wong said.
“And we look forward to continuing to engage on many issues, including the continued removal of trade impediments and many other aspects.”
As Australian homeowners face a 13th interest rate rise on Tuesday, Mr Albanese said the economic benefits of improving ties with China were clear.
“We are a trading nation. This is very much in Australia’s national interest for us to be engaged.”
Mr Albanese will meet on Tuesday with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, before flying out of China for the Pacific Island Forum in the Cook Islands.
