Latest news with #KevinMuscat
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Behind Anthony Albanese's stroll along The Bund with Kevin Muscat
Anthony Albanese made a calculated diplomatic move when he took a walk along Shanghai's waterfront with a former Socceroo. Kevin Muscat has become something of a celebrity in the coastal Chinese city since January 2024 when he became the manager of Shanghai Port FC. In his first year at the helm, Muscat brought the club its first back-to-back title in the Chinese Super League after Shanghai Port won in 2023 under Javier Pereira. The club is fourth on the table after 16 games in 2025. On Sunday, the Prime Minister made clear what Muscat's success meant for Australia's diplomatic efforts with the global superpower when he called the manager and his team 'ambassadors'. 'It's great to be here with Kevin Muscat, now the manager here of Shanghai Port FC and, indeed, the premiership-winning manager here,' Mr Albanese said. 'One of the things about Australia and China going forward is that we build the people-to-people relationships. 'You do that by the participation of Australians here, whether it be here in football, whether it be the tennis tournament that is going to take place in Chengdu for the Australian Open. 'Whether it be the business relationships that we have here as well. 'This is an important relationship and I've just been chatting with Kevin about the fact that they are ambassadors as well.' Muscat welcomed Mr Albanese to China, lending no-small part of his brand to the six-day diplomatic trip. 'It sounds like you've got a big a few days ahead of you, but also thank you for taking the time to saying hello and taking the time to come in and spending this morning with us in Shanghai,' Muscat said. He then presented Mr Albanese with his own Shanghai Port FC jersey, complete with Mr Albanese's name and a number 10 on the back. Mr Albanese said he would 'be able to wear that around Australia proudly,' but noted that he had played on Parliament House's football team who were 'not very good'. During his time as a professional soccer player, Muscat earnt a reputation as a hardman, with English striker Peter Crouch saying the Australian was the only footballer who genuinely scared him on the pitch. Muscat received 123 yellow cards and 12 red cards in his professional career and in 2013 was voted football's dirtiest ever player by Spanish website El Gol Digital. He represented Australia at a national level 46 times and played eight seasons across four teams in the UK. He returned from the UK and played 113 games for Melbourne Victory before his retirement in 2011. Muscat went on to become a successful coach, winning titles with Melbourne Victory and the Japanese team Yokohama F. Marinos, along with Shanghai Port FC. His success has won him fans in Shanghai; in an interview with The Australian he revealed a portrait sent by a fan that included the message, 'Kevin, with you here, we never fear any team.' Mr Albanese has used soccer diplomacy to warm the relationship with China as he faces a grilling following a US defence adviser's push for Australia to detail its response if China were to invade Taiwan. Known China hawk and US President Donald Trump's key defence adviser Elbridge Colby has called for countries the US deem to be lagging on defence spending to rapidly increase funding. Coalition MPs questioned Mr Albanese's approach on Monday and said it was indicative of there not being a strong relationship between Mr Albanese and Mr Trump.
SBS Australia
2 days ago
- Business
- SBS Australia
Albanese Arrives in China Amid 'Tough Talk' and Tourism Hopes
LISTEN TO SBS Indonesian 14/07/2025 05:53 Indonesian PM Albanese faces a precarious task in navigating Australia's complex relationship with its most important trading partner during his week-long visit. Despite these tensions, the start of his tour was spent launching a new campaign to encourage Chinese tourists to visit Australia, and a morning walk along Shanghai's historic Bund area to promote the two countries' interpersonal relationship. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his fiancé Jodie Haydon walk along the Bund with former Socceroo and Shanghai Port FC Manager Kevin Muscat (left) in Shanghai, China on July 13, 2025. (AAP Image/Pool, Dominic Lorrimer) NO ARCHIVING Credit: DOMINIC LORRIMER/AAPIMAGE Listen to SBS Indonesian every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at 3pm. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram , and don't miss our podcasts .
SBS Australia
3 days ago
- Business
- SBS Australia
PM juggles military tensions with football diplomacy on first full day of China trip
Listen to Australian and world news, and follow trending topics with SBS News Podcasts . It was a day of positivity for the Australian Prime Minister as he begins a six day tour of China. First there was a morning walk with former Socceroo Kevin Muscat along Shanghai's historic Bund promenade to promote the two nations' interpersonal links. Muscat now coaches Shanghai Port FC, and became the first Australian manager to lead a Chinese Super League team to the premiership. He presented the PM with a jersey to mark the occasion. MUSCAT: "We'd like to present you with your own Shanghai FC shirt." ALBANESE: "Thank you so much." There was also a moment with officials from Tourism Australia, who have launched a new campaign to encourage more Chinese tourists to visit down under. Chief executive Robin Mack says the campaign will feature Chinese actor Yu Shi. "We always love to work with people who resonate with our target customers, and what Yu Shi is doing and bringing to our campaign, we're really excited." A burgeoning Chinese middle class with a new found appetite for travel has flocked to Australia in recent decades, though recent tourist numbers remain below pre-pandemic levels. Mr Albanese says increasing the numbers of Chinese tourists who come to our shores is in Australia's best interest. "Last year alone Chinese tourists spent more than 9 billion dollars in Australia. That's jobs for Australians, particularly in regional communities. The agreement that was signed today will focus on growing these tourism numbers back to our 2019 record of 1.4 million and beyond." Amid the positive rhetoric around Sino-Australian relations, Mr Albanese did his best to dodge the US-sized elephant in the room. Australia and the United States have just begun joint military exercises in Queensland, alongside over a dozen other allies. "Good afternoon everyone, and welcome to Talisman Sabre 2025." Still, there's been tensions - not so much around the Chinese ships that Acting Defence Minister Pat Conroy has acknowledged to the ABC's Insiders programme are monitoring the military exercises offshore. "It would be unusual for them not to observe it. And we'll adjust accordingly." It's more around comments by US defence strategist Elbridge Colby - who is running the US' review into the AUKUS pact. There has already been pressure for Australia to increase its defence spending - and Colby has reportedly pushed Australia and Japan to clarify what role they would play in a potential conflict with China over Taiwan. "A lot of the biggest economies in our alliance network really aren't pulling their weight... In some sense perhaps our closest ally in the world - they've been with us even in our less advisable wars, is the way I put it." Back in Australia, Pat Conroy has said Australia won't automatically follow the US into a future conflict, or pre-commit its troops. "I don't disclose confidential discussions, but I make a couple of broad points. One, we don't engage in hypotheticals. We don't discuss hypotheticals. But secondly, the decision to commit Australian troops to a conflict will be made by the government of the day." The PM himself has said nothing about Australia's position has changed. "I think it's important that we have a consistent position, which Australia has had for a long period of time. We support the status quo when it comes to Taiwan. We don't support any unilateral action there." Meanwhile the Opposition has called for the Prime Minister to make the most of his visit to China. The PM faces a precarious task navigating Australia's complex relationship with its most important trading partner as his week-long visit begins in earnest. After relations between China and Australia soured during the COVID-19 pandemic, Labor's election in 2022 precipitated a normalisation in trade and dialogue, with a return to regular high-level meetings. But tensions remain fraught, with China's military assertiveness in the region an increasing concern for Canberra. Nationals Leader David Littleproud has told Channel 9 the trip is an opportunity the PM can't waste in balancing these issues. "This is a good thing the PM's in China but he's got to be prepared to have the tough conversations. When you've got his Foreign Minister raising the alarm bell over the strategic threat that China poses to Australia then you have to take that seriously and you have to be prepared to have those conversations when you meet with President Xi... And I think that is just as important as the trade talks we'll have. Because unfortunately if we're not safe, trade means nothing."
AU Financial Review
3 days ago
- Business
- AU Financial Review
Albanese handed some Chinese luck in US war tensions
Shanghai | Anthony Albanese was all smiles in Shanghai on Sunday as he accepted a red jersey from former Socceroo Kevin Muscat, emblazoned with the number 10 – a symbol of balance in Chinese numerology. It was a fitting gesture from Muscat, who now coaches the Shanghai Port Football Club. A delicate balance is exactly what the prime minister is trying to achieve on his six-day trip to the world's second-largest economy.
The Advertiser
3 days ago
- Business
- The Advertiser
PM juggles military tensions amid football diplomacy
Football and tourism have been the focus of the prime minister's first full day in China as questions about Australia's participation in a potential future conflict with the Asian superpower overshadow his six-day tour. Former Socceroo Kevin Muscat joined Anthony Albanese on a morning walk along Shanghai's historic Bund promenade on Sunday to promote the two nations' interpersonal links. Now coaching Shanghai Port FC, Muscat last year became the first Australian manager to lead a Chinese Super League team to the premiership. The former midfield enforcer has brought over a host of Australian coaching staff, including fellow ex-Socceroo Ross Aloisi, in a sign of the deepening collaboration between Australia and China on the sporting field. A keen tennis player, Mr Albanese will also make an announcement about extending an Australian Open wildcard tournament in the southwestern city of Chengdu later in the visit. "One of the things about Australia and China that's so important is we build people-to-people relations and we do that by the participation of Australians here," the prime minister said. "Whether it be here in football, or whether it be the lead-in tournament that's going to take place in Chengdu for the Australian Open (or) the business relationships that we have here as well." Looking across the Huangpu River to the towering skyscrapers on the opposite bank, Mr Albanese reflected on the phenomenal economic transformation China had undergone in recent decades. That boom has seen no small benefit flow to Australia, whose iron ore exports helped build the Shanghai skyline and filled the federal government's coffers. "When I first came here in the 1990s, the area Pudong was very different indeed," Mr Albanese said in a meeting with local Chinese Communist Party official Chen Jining. "There were farms where there is now a great metropolis. "The development we can see across the river is symbolic of the extraordinary development that China has seen in recent decades, lifting literally hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and creating economic benefit for the people of China but also increased economic engagement with countries like Australia." A burgeoning Chinese middle class, with a new found appetite for travel, has flocked to Australia in recent decades though recent tourist numbers remain below pre-pandemic levels. To promote Australia as a travel destination, the prime minister will oversee the signing of a memorandum of understanding between online travel giant - which owns popular bookings sites such as Skyscanner - and Tourism Australia. He will also unveil a new tourism campaign to air in China starring local film star Yu Shi and Ruby the Roo, an animated kangaroo voiced by Rose Byrne. Amid the positive rhetoric around Sino-Australian relations, Mr Albanese is doing his best to dodge the US-sized elephant in the room. Military tensions were highlighted by revelations that US defence strategist Elbridge Colby has been pushing Australia and Japan to clarify what role they would play in a potential conflict with China But acting Defence Minister Pat Conroy on Sunday reiterated Australia's long-established stance on whether it would join the US in a war. "The decision to commit Australian troops to a conflict will be made by the government of the day, not in advance," he told ABC's Insiders program. Football and tourism have been the focus of the prime minister's first full day in China as questions about Australia's participation in a potential future conflict with the Asian superpower overshadow his six-day tour. Former Socceroo Kevin Muscat joined Anthony Albanese on a morning walk along Shanghai's historic Bund promenade on Sunday to promote the two nations' interpersonal links. Now coaching Shanghai Port FC, Muscat last year became the first Australian manager to lead a Chinese Super League team to the premiership. The former midfield enforcer has brought over a host of Australian coaching staff, including fellow ex-Socceroo Ross Aloisi, in a sign of the deepening collaboration between Australia and China on the sporting field. A keen tennis player, Mr Albanese will also make an announcement about extending an Australian Open wildcard tournament in the southwestern city of Chengdu later in the visit. "One of the things about Australia and China that's so important is we build people-to-people relations and we do that by the participation of Australians here," the prime minister said. "Whether it be here in football, or whether it be the lead-in tournament that's going to take place in Chengdu for the Australian Open (or) the business relationships that we have here as well." Looking across the Huangpu River to the towering skyscrapers on the opposite bank, Mr Albanese reflected on the phenomenal economic transformation China had undergone in recent decades. That boom has seen no small benefit flow to Australia, whose iron ore exports helped build the Shanghai skyline and filled the federal government's coffers. "When I first came here in the 1990s, the area Pudong was very different indeed," Mr Albanese said in a meeting with local Chinese Communist Party official Chen Jining. "There were farms where there is now a great metropolis. "The development we can see across the river is symbolic of the extraordinary development that China has seen in recent decades, lifting literally hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and creating economic benefit for the people of China but also increased economic engagement with countries like Australia." A burgeoning Chinese middle class, with a new found appetite for travel, has flocked to Australia in recent decades though recent tourist numbers remain below pre-pandemic levels. To promote Australia as a travel destination, the prime minister will oversee the signing of a memorandum of understanding between online travel giant - which owns popular bookings sites such as Skyscanner - and Tourism Australia. He will also unveil a new tourism campaign to air in China starring local film star Yu Shi and Ruby the Roo, an animated kangaroo voiced by Rose Byrne. Amid the positive rhetoric around Sino-Australian relations, Mr Albanese is doing his best to dodge the US-sized elephant in the room. Military tensions were highlighted by revelations that US defence strategist Elbridge Colby has been pushing Australia and Japan to clarify what role they would play in a potential conflict with China But acting Defence Minister Pat Conroy on Sunday reiterated Australia's long-established stance on whether it would join the US in a war. "The decision to commit Australian troops to a conflict will be made by the government of the day, not in advance," he told ABC's Insiders program. Football and tourism have been the focus of the prime minister's first full day in China as questions about Australia's participation in a potential future conflict with the Asian superpower overshadow his six-day tour. Former Socceroo Kevin Muscat joined Anthony Albanese on a morning walk along Shanghai's historic Bund promenade on Sunday to promote the two nations' interpersonal links. Now coaching Shanghai Port FC, Muscat last year became the first Australian manager to lead a Chinese Super League team to the premiership. The former midfield enforcer has brought over a host of Australian coaching staff, including fellow ex-Socceroo Ross Aloisi, in a sign of the deepening collaboration between Australia and China on the sporting field. A keen tennis player, Mr Albanese will also make an announcement about extending an Australian Open wildcard tournament in the southwestern city of Chengdu later in the visit. "One of the things about Australia and China that's so important is we build people-to-people relations and we do that by the participation of Australians here," the prime minister said. "Whether it be here in football, or whether it be the lead-in tournament that's going to take place in Chengdu for the Australian Open (or) the business relationships that we have here as well." Looking across the Huangpu River to the towering skyscrapers on the opposite bank, Mr Albanese reflected on the phenomenal economic transformation China had undergone in recent decades. That boom has seen no small benefit flow to Australia, whose iron ore exports helped build the Shanghai skyline and filled the federal government's coffers. "When I first came here in the 1990s, the area Pudong was very different indeed," Mr Albanese said in a meeting with local Chinese Communist Party official Chen Jining. "There were farms where there is now a great metropolis. "The development we can see across the river is symbolic of the extraordinary development that China has seen in recent decades, lifting literally hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and creating economic benefit for the people of China but also increased economic engagement with countries like Australia." A burgeoning Chinese middle class, with a new found appetite for travel, has flocked to Australia in recent decades though recent tourist numbers remain below pre-pandemic levels. To promote Australia as a travel destination, the prime minister will oversee the signing of a memorandum of understanding between online travel giant - which owns popular bookings sites such as Skyscanner - and Tourism Australia. He will also unveil a new tourism campaign to air in China starring local film star Yu Shi and Ruby the Roo, an animated kangaroo voiced by Rose Byrne. Amid the positive rhetoric around Sino-Australian relations, Mr Albanese is doing his best to dodge the US-sized elephant in the room. Military tensions were highlighted by revelations that US defence strategist Elbridge Colby has been pushing Australia and Japan to clarify what role they would play in a potential conflict with China But acting Defence Minister Pat Conroy on Sunday reiterated Australia's long-established stance on whether it would join the US in a war. "The decision to commit Australian troops to a conflict will be made by the government of the day, not in advance," he told ABC's Insiders program. Football and tourism have been the focus of the prime minister's first full day in China as questions about Australia's participation in a potential future conflict with the Asian superpower overshadow his six-day tour. Former Socceroo Kevin Muscat joined Anthony Albanese on a morning walk along Shanghai's historic Bund promenade on Sunday to promote the two nations' interpersonal links. Now coaching Shanghai Port FC, Muscat last year became the first Australian manager to lead a Chinese Super League team to the premiership. The former midfield enforcer has brought over a host of Australian coaching staff, including fellow ex-Socceroo Ross Aloisi, in a sign of the deepening collaboration between Australia and China on the sporting field. A keen tennis player, Mr Albanese will also make an announcement about extending an Australian Open wildcard tournament in the southwestern city of Chengdu later in the visit. "One of the things about Australia and China that's so important is we build people-to-people relations and we do that by the participation of Australians here," the prime minister said. "Whether it be here in football, or whether it be the lead-in tournament that's going to take place in Chengdu for the Australian Open (or) the business relationships that we have here as well." Looking across the Huangpu River to the towering skyscrapers on the opposite bank, Mr Albanese reflected on the phenomenal economic transformation China had undergone in recent decades. That boom has seen no small benefit flow to Australia, whose iron ore exports helped build the Shanghai skyline and filled the federal government's coffers. "When I first came here in the 1990s, the area Pudong was very different indeed," Mr Albanese said in a meeting with local Chinese Communist Party official Chen Jining. "There were farms where there is now a great metropolis. "The development we can see across the river is symbolic of the extraordinary development that China has seen in recent decades, lifting literally hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and creating economic benefit for the people of China but also increased economic engagement with countries like Australia." A burgeoning Chinese middle class, with a new found appetite for travel, has flocked to Australia in recent decades though recent tourist numbers remain below pre-pandemic levels. To promote Australia as a travel destination, the prime minister will oversee the signing of a memorandum of understanding between online travel giant - which owns popular bookings sites such as Skyscanner - and Tourism Australia. He will also unveil a new tourism campaign to air in China starring local film star Yu Shi and Ruby the Roo, an animated kangaroo voiced by Rose Byrne. Amid the positive rhetoric around Sino-Australian relations, Mr Albanese is doing his best to dodge the US-sized elephant in the room. Military tensions were highlighted by revelations that US defence strategist Elbridge Colby has been pushing Australia and Japan to clarify what role they would play in a potential conflict with China But acting Defence Minister Pat Conroy on Sunday reiterated Australia's long-established stance on whether it would join the US in a war. "The decision to commit Australian troops to a conflict will be made by the government of the day, not in advance," he told ABC's Insiders program.
