China wants AI in expanded trade deal with Australia
With President Donald Trump's tariffs straining relations with Australia's traditionally closest ally, China's top diplomat in Australia Xiao Qian has called for greater collaboration in fields like AI, healthcare and green energy under a revised free-trade deal between the two nations.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's visit to China on Saturday comes as the Sino-Australian relationship continues to build following a downturn in relations under former Liberal prime minister Scott Morrison.
"China and Australia are natural partners with complementary economic strengths," Mr Xiao wrote in an opinion piece published in the Australian Financial Review on Monday.
"Standing at a new historical starting point, now is the time to advance bilateral relations with steady progress."
Trade volumes between the two nations have bounced back after China lifted sanctions on Australian exports.
The ambassador believes Mr Albanese's visit marks an opportunity to broaden the terms of the 10-year-old free-trade agreement.
"We are willing to review the agreement with a more open attitude and higher standard, further consolidate co-operation in traditional areas such as agriculture and mining, and actively explore new growth areas in emerging fields like artificial intelligence, healthcare, green energy, and the digital economy, elevating practical co-operation to new heights," Mr Xiao wrote.
The promotion of AI ties, amid the Albanese government's agenda to boost productivity, follows similar provisions in recently signed trade deals between Australia and partners such as Singapore, the UK and the UAE.
These clauses encourage sharing AI research and commercialisation opportunities between the countries, as well as promoting its responsible use.
There are attractive opportunities to deepen research collaboration in the fundamental science of AI, even though there are challenges to expanding the use of Chinese AI programs in Australia, said UNSW Professor Toby Walsh.
"It's going to be very hard for us to have too deep relationships within terms of AI, because you can touch upon things like data sovereignty and various other things that we value," the AI expert told AAP.
"It's not like just sending them gold and they take it, and that's the end of the partnership.
"Sharing technologies like AI could pose significant national security and other risks."
Allowing Chinese tech companies access to the Australian market has been a sore spot in the bilateral relationship.
In 2018, then-Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull banned the Chinese tech giant Huawei from developing 5G infrastructure in Australia over concerns the Chinese government could force the company to hand over Australians' data or interfere with the network.
The decision prompted strenuous protests from Beijing and was a factor behind a subsequent diplomatic fallout.
Prof Walsh said there were still areas where collaboration could be beneficial without forfeiting Australian security.
"It's about exchanging people, it's training, it's us going to work with them and them coming to work with us," he said.
"So it's things that we've always done in terms of scientific exchange, supercharging our science, supercharging their science, and then building our own business off the back of that scientific knowledge.
"China will be interested in partnering with us.
"We have wonderful medical data, and we have a joined-up healthcare system.
"There's huge value in those national data sets we have that no one else has."
As the US drives a wedge through a fragmenting global order, Mr Xiao framed China as a like-minded partner for Australia - one that shares Australia's interests in pushing back against unilateralism and protectionism.
China is willing to work with Australia to strengthen multilateral organisations like the United Nations and ASEAN, safeguard regional peace and the international rules-based order, and advocate for free trade, the ambassador said.
Assistant Trade Minister Matt Thistlethwaite said the government was seeking to strengthen access to China - Australia's largest trading partner - in the best interests of Australians.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Herald Sun
9 minutes ago
- Herald Sun
Trump tariff threat clouds final day of BRICS summit
Don't miss out on the headlines from Breaking News. Followed categories will be added to My News. US President Donald Trump's decision to hit "anti-American" BRICS nations -- including China and India -- with an extra 10 percent trade tariff roiled the final day of the bloc's summit in Rio de Janeiro Monday. Trump threatened the 11-nation grouping -- which includes some of the world's fastest-emerging economies -- late on Sunday, after they warned against his "indiscriminate," damaging and illegal tariff hikes. "Any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff," Trump wrote on social media. BRICS members account for about half the world's population and 40 percent of global economic output. Members China, Russia and South Africa responded coolly to Trump's latest verbal barrage, insisting the bloc was not seeking confrontation with Washington. But host Brazil's leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was less diplomatic. "We are sovereign nations," Lula said. "We don't want an emperor." Conceived two decades ago as a forum for fast-growing economies, BRICS has come to be seen as a Chinese-driven effort to curb US global influence. But it is a quickly expanding and often divergent grouping -- bringing together arch US foes like Iran and Russia, with some of Washington's closest allies in Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Some US allies inside the bloc had tried to blunt criticism of Trump by not mentioning him or the United States by name in the summit statement. Saudi Arabia -- one of the biggest purchasers of US high-tech weapons -- even kept its foreign minister away from Sunday's talks and a BRICS group photo, seemingly to avoid Washington's ire. But such diplomatic gestures were lost on the US president who said "there will be no exceptions to this policy." - No shows - In April, Trump threatened a slew of punitive duties on dozens of economies, before backing off in the face of a fierce market sell-off. Now he is threatening to impose unilateral levies on trading partners unless they reach "deals" by August 1, with BRICS nations seemingly faced with higher tariffs than planned. It cannot have helped that BRICS leaders also condemned the recent US and Israeli bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities -- a show of solidarity with fellow member Iran. Beijing on Monday insisted BRICS was not seeking confrontation with the United States. "China has repeatedly stated its position that trade and tariff wars have no winners and protectionism offers no way forward," foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said. Beijing also defended the bloc as "an important platform for cooperation between emerging markets and developing countries." "It advocates openness, inclusivity, and win-win cooperation," Mao said. "It does not engage in camp confrontation and is not targeted at any country," she added. The Kremlin echoed that message with spokesman Dmitry Peskov telling Russian media that BRICS cooperation "has never been and will never be directed against third countries." The political punch of this year's summit has been depleted by the absence of China's Xi Jinping, who skipped the meeting for the first time in his 12 years as president. The Chinese leader is not the only notable absentee. Russian President Vladimir Putin, charged with war crimes in Ukraine, also opted to stay away, participating via video link. He told counterparts that BRICS had become a key player in global governance. arb/aks Originally published as Trump tariff threat clouds final day of BRICS summit
Sky News AU
16 minutes ago
- Sky News AU
Albanese dismisses two requests from China ahead of visit
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has declined to engage with two of China's requests ahead of his visit to Beijing on Saturday. Mr Albanese has rejected a call to incorporate AI into an updated free trade deal. The Prime Minister is focused on business, trade, and tourism, citing jobs as his main priority for talks with key officials. A demand to loosen foreign investment rules is also being ignored despite China lifting trade sanctions on $20 billion of Australian exports.
The Advertiser
23 minutes ago
- The Advertiser
Aussie dollar, iron ore threatened as tariff war grows
The value of the Australian dollar could be hit as increased US tariffs on goods from Australia's trading partners impact local exporters. US President Donald Trump has announced 25 per cent tariffs on items from Japan and Korea, which are Australia's second and third-biggest export markets, and its third and fourth-largest two-way trading partners. Though Australia has been spared for now, it is vulnerable to flow-on effects, Monash University economics lecturer Isaac Gross said. One of Australia's main exports to Japan and South Korea is iron ore, which is used to make vehicles that are one of their biggest exports to the US. But if cars are unable to be sold in the American market, that will mean less demand for Australian iron ore, lowering prices. That could and meaning mining giants like BHP and Rio Tinto will make less money and pay less corporate tax. "The principal way that affects the Australian economy is through a lower Australian dollar and less tax revenue," Dr Gross told AAP. "That would affect Australians as a whole ... it would definitely hurt the government's budget line and reduce economic activity, in especially the mining states." There could be some upsides for Australian consumers as South Korean or Japanese goods that would normally have been exported to the US might be sent to Australia at a discounted price. For now, uncertainty has engulfed the tariffs because of the erratic way Mr Trump wields the measures. "A lot of countries that are trying to do deals with the United States are very frustrated," University of Sydney associate professor David Smith told AAP. "They think that negotiations are going in one direction and then Trump makes a sudden announcement that takes it in another direction." Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has faced increasing pressure to schedule a face-to-face meeting with the US president and push for a total tariff exemption. However, it's unclear if that would work. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba met Mr Trump in February, but by July the US president revealed his increased tariffs on the Asian nation and appeared to skip over its leader's name, calling him "Mr Japan" in a recent interview. "I can see why the (Australian) prime minister would be seeking a face-to-face meeting, but it doesn't have the same kind of certainty that it had in the past," Assoc Prof Smith said. "Now we're in a situation where the US is trying to negotiate 100 trade deals at once - it's clearly beyond the capacity of American negotiators. "Trump is getting very frustrated, Trump's blaming other countries for the slowness of the negotiations and now he's lashing out." The value of the Australian dollar could be hit as increased US tariffs on goods from Australia's trading partners impact local exporters. US President Donald Trump has announced 25 per cent tariffs on items from Japan and Korea, which are Australia's second and third-biggest export markets, and its third and fourth-largest two-way trading partners. Though Australia has been spared for now, it is vulnerable to flow-on effects, Monash University economics lecturer Isaac Gross said. One of Australia's main exports to Japan and South Korea is iron ore, which is used to make vehicles that are one of their biggest exports to the US. But if cars are unable to be sold in the American market, that will mean less demand for Australian iron ore, lowering prices. That could and meaning mining giants like BHP and Rio Tinto will make less money and pay less corporate tax. "The principal way that affects the Australian economy is through a lower Australian dollar and less tax revenue," Dr Gross told AAP. "That would affect Australians as a whole ... it would definitely hurt the government's budget line and reduce economic activity, in especially the mining states." There could be some upsides for Australian consumers as South Korean or Japanese goods that would normally have been exported to the US might be sent to Australia at a discounted price. For now, uncertainty has engulfed the tariffs because of the erratic way Mr Trump wields the measures. "A lot of countries that are trying to do deals with the United States are very frustrated," University of Sydney associate professor David Smith told AAP. "They think that negotiations are going in one direction and then Trump makes a sudden announcement that takes it in another direction." Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has faced increasing pressure to schedule a face-to-face meeting with the US president and push for a total tariff exemption. However, it's unclear if that would work. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba met Mr Trump in February, but by July the US president revealed his increased tariffs on the Asian nation and appeared to skip over its leader's name, calling him "Mr Japan" in a recent interview. "I can see why the (Australian) prime minister would be seeking a face-to-face meeting, but it doesn't have the same kind of certainty that it had in the past," Assoc Prof Smith said. "Now we're in a situation where the US is trying to negotiate 100 trade deals at once - it's clearly beyond the capacity of American negotiators. "Trump is getting very frustrated, Trump's blaming other countries for the slowness of the negotiations and now he's lashing out." The value of the Australian dollar could be hit as increased US tariffs on goods from Australia's trading partners impact local exporters. US President Donald Trump has announced 25 per cent tariffs on items from Japan and Korea, which are Australia's second and third-biggest export markets, and its third and fourth-largest two-way trading partners. Though Australia has been spared for now, it is vulnerable to flow-on effects, Monash University economics lecturer Isaac Gross said. One of Australia's main exports to Japan and South Korea is iron ore, which is used to make vehicles that are one of their biggest exports to the US. But if cars are unable to be sold in the American market, that will mean less demand for Australian iron ore, lowering prices. That could and meaning mining giants like BHP and Rio Tinto will make less money and pay less corporate tax. "The principal way that affects the Australian economy is through a lower Australian dollar and less tax revenue," Dr Gross told AAP. "That would affect Australians as a whole ... it would definitely hurt the government's budget line and reduce economic activity, in especially the mining states." There could be some upsides for Australian consumers as South Korean or Japanese goods that would normally have been exported to the US might be sent to Australia at a discounted price. For now, uncertainty has engulfed the tariffs because of the erratic way Mr Trump wields the measures. "A lot of countries that are trying to do deals with the United States are very frustrated," University of Sydney associate professor David Smith told AAP. "They think that negotiations are going in one direction and then Trump makes a sudden announcement that takes it in another direction." Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has faced increasing pressure to schedule a face-to-face meeting with the US president and push for a total tariff exemption. However, it's unclear if that would work. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba met Mr Trump in February, but by July the US president revealed his increased tariffs on the Asian nation and appeared to skip over its leader's name, calling him "Mr Japan" in a recent interview. "I can see why the (Australian) prime minister would be seeking a face-to-face meeting, but it doesn't have the same kind of certainty that it had in the past," Assoc Prof Smith said. "Now we're in a situation where the US is trying to negotiate 100 trade deals at once - it's clearly beyond the capacity of American negotiators. "Trump is getting very frustrated, Trump's blaming other countries for the slowness of the negotiations and now he's lashing out." The value of the Australian dollar could be hit as increased US tariffs on goods from Australia's trading partners impact local exporters. US President Donald Trump has announced 25 per cent tariffs on items from Japan and Korea, which are Australia's second and third-biggest export markets, and its third and fourth-largest two-way trading partners. Though Australia has been spared for now, it is vulnerable to flow-on effects, Monash University economics lecturer Isaac Gross said. One of Australia's main exports to Japan and South Korea is iron ore, which is used to make vehicles that are one of their biggest exports to the US. But if cars are unable to be sold in the American market, that will mean less demand for Australian iron ore, lowering prices. That could and meaning mining giants like BHP and Rio Tinto will make less money and pay less corporate tax. "The principal way that affects the Australian economy is through a lower Australian dollar and less tax revenue," Dr Gross told AAP. "That would affect Australians as a whole ... it would definitely hurt the government's budget line and reduce economic activity, in especially the mining states." There could be some upsides for Australian consumers as South Korean or Japanese goods that would normally have been exported to the US might be sent to Australia at a discounted price. For now, uncertainty has engulfed the tariffs because of the erratic way Mr Trump wields the measures. "A lot of countries that are trying to do deals with the United States are very frustrated," University of Sydney associate professor David Smith told AAP. "They think that negotiations are going in one direction and then Trump makes a sudden announcement that takes it in another direction." Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has faced increasing pressure to schedule a face-to-face meeting with the US president and push for a total tariff exemption. However, it's unclear if that would work. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba met Mr Trump in February, but by July the US president revealed his increased tariffs on the Asian nation and appeared to skip over its leader's name, calling him "Mr Japan" in a recent interview. "I can see why the (Australian) prime minister would be seeking a face-to-face meeting, but it doesn't have the same kind of certainty that it had in the past," Assoc Prof Smith said. "Now we're in a situation where the US is trying to negotiate 100 trade deals at once - it's clearly beyond the capacity of American negotiators. "Trump is getting very frustrated, Trump's blaming other countries for the slowness of the negotiations and now he's lashing out."
