Albanese calls for Beijing to learn from the Soviets and create Cold War-style ‘guardrails’ with America

Anthony Albanese has called for Beijing to work with Washington to create Cold War-style ‘guardrails’ after China launched a diplomatic protest to G7 host Japan and ‘other parties’.

US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the Quad meeting on the G7 sidelines in Japan. Picture: AFP

Anthony Albanese has called on Beijing to work with Washington to create Cold War-style “guardrails” to lower international tensions after the world’s strongest liberal democracies revealed unprecedented co-ordination on China at a series of G7 and Quad meetings in Hiroshima.

Beijing launched a diplomatic protest after the G7 made its sharpest-ever condemnation of Chinese behaviour before a late Saturday evening meeting of the Quad, a group China detests.

China’s Foreign Ministry said it had made “serious démarches” to G7 host Japan and “other parties” over their decision to “smear and attack” China.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov echoed Moscow’s “no limits” partner, saying the G7 was bent on the “double containment” of Russia and China.

After hosting a late-night session of the Quad, the Prime Minister on Sunday said there was a clear alignment among the democratic nations who attended the three-day summit in Hiroshima.

“We’re all working towards a peaceful, more secure region,” said Mr Albanese, before suggesting Beijing learn from the détente-era relationship between the Soviet Union and United States.

“The lack of guardrails that are there in international relations is of concern … The sort of guardrails that were in place for a long period of time during the period of US-Soviet competition that occurred during the Cold War,” he said.

The Prime Minister flew out of Japan on Sunday afternoon after joining the G7 leaders as they were addressed in person by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, dressed in military green, who implored them to remain united against Russian aggression.

“The more we all work together, the less likely anyone else in the world will follow Russia’s insane path,” said President Zelensky.

After a late-night meeting of the Quad, the four-country group’s leaders declared in a joint statement: “Ours must not be an era of war”, using a phrase first used by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

At the meeting’s opening, US President Joe Biden said the Quad would have historic significance.

“I think people are going to look back at this Quad, God willing, in 10, 20, 30 years from now and say, Gee, it changed the dynamic not only of the region but the world,” President Biden said.

Mr Albanese, who on Sunday marked a year since winning the 2022 election, said the weekend demonstrated wide recognition of the importance of the Quad grouping among G7 members.

Joe Biden, Anthony Albanese, Fumio Kishida and Narendra Modi pose for a photo as they hold a Quad meeting on the sidelines of the G7 Summit Leaders' Meeting. Picture: AFP

The Quad meeting was to take place in Sydney after the G7, but was rescheduled so Mr Biden could return to Washington to deal with US debt ceiling negotiations. The last-minute change pushed Saturday night’s summit dinner to near midnight.

“Not one person, not one country complained. Everyone accepted it was an important enough organisational body for that to occur,” Mr Albanese said. “And that says a lot about not just the way the United States and Japan, India and Australia see the Quad, that said a lot about the way the G7, the world’s largest seven democracies, see the Quad as well.”

On Monday evening, Mr Modi will fly into Sydney before addressing a huge group of Indian-Australians at Olympic Park on Tuesday, followed by a meetings with Governor-General David Hurley and Mr Albanese on Wednesday. “I’m so looking forward to Prime Minister Modi coming. He will be such a welcome visitor,” Mr Albanese said.

At the Hiroshima summit there was interest in Australia’s modestly improved relationship with China, a subject of particular intrigue in the Canadian delegation.

“People regard it as very positive that Australia is in dialogue with China. I’ve informed our partners that I do intend to travel to China at some time in the future. And that has been welcomed as well,” Mr Albanese said. “You need dialogue to get understanding, and you also need dialogue to avoid miscalculations.”

The G7 communique contained the sharpest criticism of China ever agreed to by the group, made up of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and US.

It spanned Beijing’s economic coercion, threats of war against Taiwan, aggressive territorial claims in the South China Sea, human rights abuses in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong, interference activities that undermine democratic institutions, and a call to press Russia to stop its military aggression in Ukraine.

“Our policy approaches are not designed to harm China, nor do we seek to thwart China’s economic progress and development. A growing China that plays by international rules would be of global interest,” said the G7 leaders. “We are not decoupling or turning inwards. At the same time, we recognise economic resilience requires de-risking and diversifying.”