The prime minister needs to see for himself what China’s economic miracle looks like close up.
It is time for Anthony Albanese to begin to understand what it is we are balancing with China, and what a challenge that is going to be. That the prime minister has mostly, but not entirely, clarified his position on visiting China this year is therefore welcome. But his language around going still has the whiff of hedging.Even to get this far he has had to thread a path through competing voices of advisers, some saying it is time to go while others wish he would never go.
Albanese, as a seasoned politician, however, is practiced in the art of compromise. He understands that a bargaining chip is leverage until it is no longer. If it has no value to the other side, it is worthless. China was not prepared to “pay” for a visit by Albanese. It has little value to Beijing. The prime minister is going without preconditions.The official program will depend in part on whether it is designated as a “state visit” or a “working visit”.
Mercedes jeeps and Porsches, even before Barbie has been released. Less obvious is that about 40 per cent of new car sales are EVs, topping the world. China is in the vanguard of renewable energy even as it consumes more coal.But Albanese would do well to venture beyond the capital. He is a train buff. Since he last came as transport minister, China has covered the country in high-speed trains. It now has more than twice the world’s total high-speed track.
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