China’s Premier Li Keqiang is making friendly overtures towards the new Albanese government at the same time the Pacific becomes a Sino-Australian strategic battleground.
“It is our belief that the common interests between China and Australia far outweigh our differences, and we have every reason to become partners of mutual benefit,” he wrote.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang. Labor says China has changed since it was last in power.The Australian federal election was looming, and it was clear China was hedging its bets on a Labor win. Xi’s authoritarian leadership and aggressive foreign policies have alarmed the international community and led to a deterioration in relations with the US and other Western countries, as well as Australia.Labor is dealing with a different beast than it was when former prime minister Julia Gillard clinked champagne glasses with Li in the Great Hall of the People in 2013 and both countries committed to annual leadership talks.
Beijing responded by seeking to freeze out Turnbull government ministers by denying them visas to travel to China. “China will want a concession of some kind from Australia but, in the current climate, that will be difficult, especially if the trade sanctions remain in place.”Albanese made that clear in Tokyo after spending the day bolstering Australia’s alliances with the US, Japan and India, who share Canberra’s concerns about China.
David Goodman, director of the China Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, also published an open letter signed by a number China watchers advising the new government to take a less publicly aggressive stance on China.
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