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Albanese in Beijing: Trump brings Australia, China close again
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made a surprising diplomatic manoeuvre as he embarks on a weeklong visit to China from July 12 to July 18. What attracted the attention of many was the fact that the Australian premier's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping came before he held talks with US President Donald Trump in his diplomatic calendar after getting re-elected.
It is pertinent to note that this is Albanese's second visit to China as prime minister, reflecting a significant thaw in the relationship between the two nations. For time immemorial, China and Australia shared complex ties, given Beijing's growing aggression in the Indo-Pacific region, which makes Canberra uncomfortable. Things were in rocky waters between the two nations under Australia's previous coalition government.
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During his visit, the Australian leader is scheduled to hold the Annual Leaders' Meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing. His itinerary also includes a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Chairman Zhao Leji of the National People's Congress.
The agenda of the Australian premier's trip will include discussions on trade, tourism, and potential cooperation in artificial intelligence — an area Canberra has flagged as carrying national security risks.
Courting with Xi before Trump?
What generated attention from the geopolitical pundits is the fact that the Australian Prime Minister's visit to Beijing came before he visited Washington, DC in his diplomatic calendar. While Albanese will be holding talks with Xi in July, his next shot at meeting Trump won't come until the Quad summit in India or the UN General Assembly in September.
'It seems that this government and this Prime Minister are better able to, and are more interested in, getting a meeting with the President of China than the President of the United States,' declared shadow defence spokesman Angus Taylor when speculations of his China visit were rife.
While China continues to remain Australia's largest trading partner, a nervous eye will stay on the US's promised Aukus nuclear submarines: military commitments of hundreds of billions of dollars, spending spurred by China's military buildup. Albanese's visit to Beijing is coming at a time when the deal is under review by the US Department of Defence, which is notorious for cutting foreign spending under the Trump administration.
Australia is interested in building trade ties with China. However, it is also uncomfortable with China's latest military buildup. This can be reflected by the speech Australian Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, delivered in Malaysia on Thursday, while attending the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) summit.
Wong spoke about the 'worrying pace of China's nuclear and conventional military buildup, without the transparency that the region expects'. In the same breath, she praised China's strength, saying its 'size and weight make it central to solving global challenges'.
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While talking about Australia balancing China and the United States, Wong said: 'Two countries can be the strongest of allies without agreeing on every single element of policy.' She said Canberra and Washington were 'in complete agreement on the importance of the peace, stability and prosperity for the Indo-Pacific and our peoples'.
So is Trump's tariff the reason behind this courtship?
Trump's skyrocketing tariffs on foreign goods have prompted different countries around the world to look for alternatives. Despite all the tensions, China remains Australia's largest trading partner. China accounts for nearly a third of Australia's total trade and 'will remain so for the foreseeable future', Albanese said ahead of his visit. 'The relationship in China means jobs in Australia. It's as simple as that,' he told reporters on Friday.
Regarding tariffs, Australia still remains in a comfortable position, facing just 10 per cent duties on the goods that are exported to the United States. However, Trump's frequent change of heart on this matter is making things uncertain in regards to global trading.
But other factors can be seen as reasons why the Albanese government can be seen distancing itself from the Trump administration.
While the Labour government won't admit it out loud, they remain sceptical of the prospects of the Australian premier cosying up to Trump. Before the elections, several polls reflected how unpopular the American president is among Australians.
Not only this, Albanese himself campaigned against imported Trumpian politics and with the Labour government now having a bigger majority in the parliament, Albanese has more room to manoeuvre.
Trump's tendency to be good to a leader and then suddenly shift to hostilities. In such circumstances, just like Trump's 'America First' policy, Albanese will set his priorities accordingly.
Not the first time
Hence, Australia can be seen taking a two-pronged approach towards its foreign policy. While it is courting the US to ensure wider security in the Indo-Pacific region, he is warming ties with China to bolster trade between the two nations.
However, Albanese is not the only Australian prime minister who prioritised China over the US. Soon after coming to office in 2013, former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott pledged to take an 'Asia first' approach during his tenure. Indonesia, China, Japan and South Korea were the opening ports of call for his official visits.
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'Only after our regional and trading partners have been suitably attended to would I make the traditional trips to Washington and London,' Abbott promised at that time. He held talks with Xi on the sidelines of the APEC meeting just a few weeks after coming to power. Interestingly, then US President Barack Obama skipped the summit, sending Secretary of State John Kerry in his place.
However, no one scrutinised Abbott's approach at that time. That can be due to two reasons: A person like Trump was not in the Oval Office, and China was not expanding its military infrastructure in Beijing.
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