‘Reliable': China's big call on Albo trip
The Prime Minister has been keen to reframe the Australia-China relationship in friendlier terms, steering away from the increasingly militaristic tone to focus on a peaceful coexistence ensured through deeper economic interdependency.
'Overwhelmingly, what we discuss as moving forward is issues of today and tomorrow, rather than the past,' Mr Albanese told reporters on his final day in Chengdu, a major research hub in western China.
'What I speak about is the potential that's there to grow the relationship, to develop further economic ties. Anthony Albanese in Shanghai with fiancé Jodie Haydon and Socceroos great turned Shanghai Port FC coach Kevin Muscat. NewsWire / Joseph Olbrycht-Palmer Credit: News Corp Australia
'We – of course, as I've said repeatedly – we co-operate where we can, we disagree where we must, but we don't want those disagreements to define our relationship either.
'So what we do is talk about how we can co-operate further in the future.'
His message has gone down well in Beijing, with Chinese state media eagerly lapping up every photo op and flattering remark Mr Albanese made. Mr Albanese's message has seemingly gone down well with Beijing. Supplied/PMO Credit: Supplied Chinese state media had only good things to say after the two leaders met. Supplied/PMO Credit: Supplied
The Global Times is a leading English-language propaganda mouthpiece for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Doing its best to imitate a Western-style publication, it is often used to circulate the CCP's various pet peeves and routinely takes scathing shots at Australia.
But the Chinese government tabloid has had only good things to say after Mr Albanese met with Xi Jinping and other party top brass in the middle of the trip.
'The most important insight this gives us is that treating each other as equals, seeking common ground while shelving differences, and engaging in mutually beneficial co-operation serve the fundamental interests of both China and Australia and the two peoples,' it cited the Chinese President as saying in his remarks at the top of the big meet — a striking similarity to Mr Albanese's own words. (L-R) Mr Albanese with Tourism Australia's Robin Mack, Trip.com vice president Edison Chen, and Trip.com CEO Jane Sun. Joseph Olbrycht-Palmer / NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia
More tellingly, it summed up the state visit as a revival of 'Australia's independent China policy', speaking to the elephant in the room.
Donald Trump has made clear China is the main game when it comes to the foreign policy focus of his second administration.
Its exploding middle class and relentless growth is evidence of an economic model that could rival the US.
Similarly, China's rapid expansion of its nuclear and conventional arsenals has raised questions about how it might use its might, sparking warnings from Washington that Mr Xi is eyeing an invasion of Taiwan.
It is with that concern that US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth demanded the Albanese government hike Australia's defence spending to at least 3.5 per cent — a request Mr Albanese has rejected even as his deputy and defence minister, Richard Marles, said China's military build-up is driving 'security anxiety' in Canberra.
Brushing off the Trump administration's warnings as needless warmongering, the resistance to the US defence demand has not gone unnoticed in Beijing, which has eagerly seized on global trade uncertainty driven by tariffs.
In an opinion piece on Thursday, the Global Times said Mr Albanese's 'trip has come at a time of global turmoil instigated by the US'.
'The prime minister's critics are accusing him of prioritising the China relationship over the US relationship, but this is a misrepresentation,' it read.
'The simple reality is that China is a reliable partner.'
The piece went on to say 'Australia's relationship with the US has deteriorated' due to tariffs imposed 'despite Australia being the US' most reliable ally'. Mr Albanese met with China's President Xi Jinping on Tuesday. Source - PMO Credit: Supplied Mr Albanese visits The Great Wall of China with his fiance Jodie Haydon. NewsWire / Joseph Olbrycht-Palmer Credit: NewsWire
'The contrast between China's steady reliability and the US' erratic demands is being noticed by the Australian people – opinion polls in Australia show falling confidence in the US and rising confidence in China,' it claimed.
Throughout the trip, Mr Albanese has leaned heavily on his mantra of co-operating with China where possible and disagreeing where necessary, making clear chasmic differences remain between Canberra and Beijing.
But his messaging from the glitz of central Shanghai, to the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, and the panda breeding capital of Chengdu, is that peace through trade and people-to-people ties are the best ways to navigate the challenges in the relationship.
It is not a new approach — the EU took it with post-Soviet Russia and was blindsided after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Whether Mr Albanese's China push will make Australia vulnerable down the line will be a matter for future generations.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Age
36 minutes ago
- The Age
The tax change that could allow thousands of new homes, ease rental pressure
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is under pressure to overhaul capital gains tax, delivering bigger tax incentives to investors who build new units amid warnings that without change, the government will fail to hit its 1.2 million new home target. Research for the Labor-aligned McKell Institute argues that an increase in the current 50 per cent discount on CGT for new units but a reduction for investors who purchase an existing detached house would encourage construction of additional 130,000 homes before 2030. NSW could get an extra 40,000 homes while Victoria stands to gain up to 33,600 additional properties in a move that would be a stark departure from Labor's 2019 election policy to heavily curtail CGT concessions. Albanese and Treasurer Jim Chalmers are heading a three-day economic roundtable next month, when tax reform will be one of the key discussion points. Labor went to the 2019 election with a policy to halve the capital gains tax concession, which had been introduced by the Howard government in the late 1990s in a move that economists say contributed to a surge in house prices, as part of a proposal to also restrict negative gearing to new properties. But the McKell research shows a larger concession on new builds combined with reduced incentives for investors to buy existing detached homes would both lift the number of new properties while putting downward pressure on rents. Report co-author Richard Holden, a respected independent economist, said the 1.2 million target would not be met under current tax settings. 'A key problem with our existing tax settings on property is they orient too much investment toward established dwellings at the cost of new supply,' he said. 'There is nothing wrong with the commonly held desire of everyday investors to secure their future by investing in the housing market. But this desire should be harnessed to achieve our national objectives on housing supply.'
Sydney Morning Herald
36 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
The tax change that could allow thousands of new homes, ease rental pressure
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is under pressure to overhaul capital gains tax, delivering bigger tax incentives to investors who build new units amid warnings that without change, the government will fail to hit its 1.2 million new home target. Research for the Labor-aligned McKell Institute argues that an increase in the current 50 per cent discount on CGT for new units but a reduction for investors who purchase an existing detached house would encourage construction of additional 130,000 homes before 2030. NSW could get an extra 40,000 homes while Victoria stands to gain up to 33,600 additional properties in a move that would be a stark departure from Labor's 2019 election policy to heavily curtail CGT concessions. Albanese and Treasurer Jim Chalmers are heading a three-day economic roundtable next month, when tax reform will be one of the key discussion points. Labor went to the 2019 election with a policy to halve the capital gains tax concession, which had been introduced by the Howard government in the late 1990s in a move that economists say contributed to a surge in house prices, as part of a proposal to also restrict negative gearing to new properties. But the McKell research shows a larger concession on new builds combined with reduced incentives for investors to buy existing detached homes would both lift the number of new properties while putting downward pressure on rents. Report co-author Richard Holden, a respected independent economist, said the 1.2 million target would not be met under current tax settings. 'A key problem with our existing tax settings on property is they orient too much investment toward established dwellings at the cost of new supply,' he said. 'There is nothing wrong with the commonly held desire of everyday investors to secure their future by investing in the housing market. But this desire should be harnessed to achieve our national objectives on housing supply.'
West Australian
36 minutes ago
- West Australian
Childcare industry a top ‘priority' for Albanese after conceding governments have let down parents
Families have been let down in the past by governments and regulators, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has admitted as Labor scrambles to fix a childcare crisis with new laws to cut off funds to substandard centres. Legislation to cut subsidies for centres with egregious and continued breaches of quality standards and prevent providers who persistently fail to meet minimum standards from opening new centres will be put to Parliament on Thursday. The Opposition is expected to support the new laws, which will also make it easier for regulators to send inspectors into childcare centres. 'Clearly, governments, regulators haven't done well enough in the past, but we are determined to make sure that parents can have the peace of mind that they deserve,' Mr Albanese told The West Australian in an exclusive interview ahead of parliament's first sitting since the Federal election. Public trust in the childcare sector has crumbled after shocking revelations that alleged paedophile Joshua Dale Brown was able to work unheeded in 23 childcare centres, prompting warnings to more than 2000 families to test their children for sexually transmitted infection. Mr Brown has been charged with dozens of offences, including alleged sexual assault, producing child abuse material and contaminating food with his bodily fluids. The accused had a mandatory and valid working with children check, and the scandal has unleashed a wave of anger and shock among parents over what they see as a lapse in the screening system for childcare workers. Mr Albanese said tightening the regulations around the childcare sector – a responsibility shared by Federal and State governments – would be one of Labor's top priorities as parliament resumes this week. '[Education Minister] Jason Clare has been working to ensure that legislation is ready,' he said in an interview returning from a six-day trip to China. 'That will be about giving the assurances that parents would expect for recognition of a national database, also allowing for defunding of centres that don't meet expectations and standards.' Almost 1500 of Australia's 18,000 childcare services – including after-school care, preschool/kindergarten and family day care as well as long day care centres – haven't yet been assessed against the minimum quality standards. Another 1478 centres are still 'working towards' the standards, meaning they are judged to provide a safe care environment but fall short in at least one of the seven quality areas. Shadow education minister Jonno Duniam said the Opposition would back the tougher laws, but it would only be a small part of what was needed. 'We've got to do everything we possibly can to deal with what is a problem in our childcare sector, though this legislation only goes so far,' he told ABC's Insiders. 'We again extend our support to the Government to urge state and territory governments to come together and act with urgency to resolve all of the problems we have across the sector.' He wants to see a national register of childcare workers so employers could see if someone had been sacked from a previous centre and why, along with mandatory CCTV in childcare centres, something some of the nation's largest providers have voluntarily moved to install. Senator Duniam also called for 'an open conversation about the structure of childcare' with for-profit operators now dominating the sector. 'I don't think being for-profit necessarily is a bad thing. Yes, sure, they want to return money to their investors, but at the end of the day, child safety is something that we should be able to ensure is provided for, no matter the setting,' he said. Attorney-General Michelle Rowland said a national working with children check system was top of the agenda for a meeting with her State and Territory counterparts within weeks. They are aiming 'to ensure that we have a solution that allows near real-time reporting, access to data, making sure that we've got consistency and uniformity across that', she said. An overhaul of the fragmented system was recommended 10 years ago, and Ms Rowland said the Albanese Government 'has not been idle' with a pilot of a new system happening.
