China was on a charm offensive in Sydney and Canberra this week as Beijing prepares to unwind sanctions on $20 billion worth of exports. But is Australia permanently out of the deep freeze?
It was an unlikely first stop for the first senior Chinese official to visit Australia in six years.dinner had been organised on Tuesday nightBusinessman Warwick Smith, former trade minister Andrew Robb and former Australian ambassador Geoff Raby were among the guests who knew Ma from his years as China’s ambassador in Canberra a decade earlier.
Despite the irony of serving up beef wellington and a South Australian red, products targeted in China’s trade sanctions, the mood in the room was convivial. One person quipped that it was a relief to speak to a Chinese official who was not “lecturing me about how bad my government is” for a change. The week marked a significant turning point in Australia’s relationship with its biggest trading partner. Just a year ago, Australia remained in theMinisters’ phone calls to Beijing went unanswered. Traders in China were avoiding buying Australian products because they assumed they would be held up at customs, and the idea of a minister in Xi’s government visiting Canberra was unthinkable.
Since reopening its borders and ending three years of COVID-19 restrictions, Xi has welcomed a string of world leaders and global business chiefs in Beijing. With both sides of politics in the United States bearing down on him, Xi has shelved the “wolf warrior” diplomacy and is instead seeking to divide Washington’s allies and focus on stabilising China’s economy.
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