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05-11-2023
CANBERRA/ BEIJING: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will travel to Beijing on Saturday, a little over 50 years since his predecessor Gough Whitlam’s historic journey to China but while Albanese may be following in the steps of Whitlam, who forged ties with China in 1972, he was careful first to travel to the United States, Australia’s so-called “forever friend”.
Albanese confirmed the exact dates of his long-planned China visit, November 4 to 7 just hours before he got on the plane to Washington, DC, and also announced some policy initiatives including for Australian wine growers indicating a potential thawing of Australia’s relationship with Beijing.
“Consistent, steady engagement with our international partners gets results for Australia,” the prime minister wrote on X last week.
At the White House, Albanese and his partner enjoyed a lavish state dinner, amid Canberra’s deepening security ties with the US, and initiatives such as the Quad and the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal that have caused upset in Beijing.
Emma Shortis, a senior researcher in International and Security Affairs at the Australia Institute told media that Albanese’s government was “very clearly … doubling down on the US alliance” while also being “intent” on “stabilizing the relationship with China and particularly the trade relationship.”
China is Australia’s largest trading partner.
“That’s an incredibly difficult line to walk and I think we’ll just need to wait and see how they handle it,” Shortis said.
Albanese’s China visit, the first by an Australian leader in seven years comes after a bridge-building trip by Foreign Minister Penny Wong in December 2022.
One group that will be banking on his diplomatic skills will be Australian wine growers.
Matthew Rimmer, Professor of Intellectual Property and Innovation Law, at the Queensland University of Technology, noted that with the dispute over wine tariffs now suspended at the World Trade Organization, there was a chance of progress.
“Perhaps this dispute can be resolved altogether during the visit,” he told media.
China was once the biggest buyer of Australian wine and Beijing’s imposition of duties in 2020 has left vineyards with a massive oversupply but Rimmer notes, trade negotiations will not be clear-cut given the complexity of the two countries’ relationship.
Australian intelligence agencies have raised “concerns that China has been targeting the confidential information and trade secrets of Australian research institutions,” he said. “No doubt intellectual property and trade will be a touchy subject.” (Int’l News Desk)
