EPAPrime Ministers Li and Albanese inspect the guard of honor in the Great Hall of the People
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 13:02
Australian Prime Minister Albanese has called for a full resumption of free and unfettered trade between the two countries at a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Li Quang at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
China and Australia must also work closely together in the areas of climate change, food security and international crime. As far as global competition is concerned, Albanese says “dialogue and understanding” is needed between the two countries. Relations had cooled sharply until recently.
Li, in turn, said China is willing to cooperate and improve the relationship of trust. It is the first visit to Beijing by an Australian prime minister in seven years and the conciliatory words indicate that both countries are ready to bury the hatchet.
High import tariffs
It started in 2018 with a row over Australia’s exclusion of Chinese telecom giant Huawei from building the 5G network. And when Australia called for an investigation into the origins of the virus in 2020 after the outbreak of the corona pandemic, China was furious.
High import tariffs were imposed on many Australian products, which severely affected Australian wine growers, among others. But China continued to purchase raw materials such as iron ore and gas in Australia and Beijing was unable to sow division between Australia and the US.
Tensions over spheres of influence
Now the tide has turned. Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a speech yesterday that a stable relationship between the two countries is in their mutual interest and that cooperation must be strengthened.
The Chinese trade blockades have largely been lifted, but China is now keen to join a major free trade agreement in the region. However, the US does not like that and Australia will not agree to it.
In any case, there are still tensions over the spheres of influence in the Pacific Ocean: China is seeking rapprochement with island states in the field of defense there, while Australia, to Beijing’s dismay, is working with its important ally America, India and Japan.
Xi warned yesterday against “bloc formation” in this regard. But after his visit to China, Albanese will immediately travel to the Cook Islands, where he will attend a summit of leaders of the Pacific archipelagos.
2023-11-07 12:02:24
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