Albanese's sunny welcome in Shanghai overshadowed by AUKUS dilemma
Those remarks displayed the tone of recent engagements between Australia and China in Labor's era of stabilisation: dripping in niceties, with prickly points of difference couched in strictly diplomatic language.
Polls suggests there is strong support for the approach of emphasising the economic potential of the relationship and speaking more softly about China's more unsettling elements.
But intruding into this cozy atmosphere of mutual co-operation is one of the leading China hawks in the Trump administration.
The words of Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon figure reviewing the AUKUS pact, echoed around the room on day one of Albanese's China visit.
The Pentagon policy chief largely confirmed on Sunday what this masthead reported last week: he wants allies like Australia to be clearer about how they would support the US in potential conflicts, including but not limited to one with China over Taiwan.
Trump's shadow was always going to loom over the six-day tour through China, but the prime minister is now forced to directly address the dilemma at the heart of Australia's foreign policy.
Albanese has been elevating the notion of Australian independence from the US in the weeks leading up to this trip, which is one of the longest single-country prime ministerial visits in recent memory.
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