Latest news with #AustraliaChinaRelations
South China Morning Post
11 hours ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Australia's Albanese to meet China's Xi in Beijing this summer: source
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is set to become the latest world leader to travel to Beijing for trade talks, as countries around the world scramble to navigate the turbulence unleashed by US President Donald Trump's tariff policies. The Australian leader is expected to arrive in the Chinese capital in July or August, a source with knowledge of the situation told the Post on condition of anonymity, with the European Union also scheduled to hold a crunch summit with China during the same period. 'Albanese is expecting to meet with [President] Xi Jinping during his visit,' the source said. Since he was first elected in 2022, Albanese has worked to thaw the economic tensions with China caused by his more hawkish predecessors, paving the way for Beijing to ease import curbs on Australian coal, wine, lobster and other goods. Engagement with China is expected to remain a priority for Albanese during his second term, after his Labor Party won a decisive victory over the opposition Liberal-National Coalition in Australia's federal election last month. 'It's a trip to engage with Australia's largest trading partner,' the source said. 'Australian people voted for Albanese again because he can stabilise the Australia-China relationship.'
South China Morning Post
28-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Port in storm threat to China-Australia ties
Just when frayed relations between Beijing and Canberra are on the mend, Australia's efforts to balance a security relationship with the United States and its trading relationship with China have hit a snag. China has intervened in a move to unwind Chinese control of a strategic asset – Darwin port on Australia's northern border. The case has the potential for another flare-up similar to that over the proposal by Hong Kong's CK Hutchison Holdings to sell off container ports including two strategically and politically sensitive operations on the Panama Canal. Chinese firm Landbridge Group was awarded a 99-year lease of the Darwin facility in 2015, under a deal approved by the Northern Territory government, but criticised by the then US president, Barack Obama. The port is not far from where US marines conduct exercises. Investment and management by Landbridge have since turned the port into a profitable operation. Facing criticism ahead of a recent election, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government was working on a plan to buy back the port on national interest grounds, saying it needed to be 'in Australian hands'. Xiao Qian, China's ambassador to Canberra, said: 'Such an enterprise deserves encouragement, not punishment. It is ethically questionable to lease the port when it was unprofitable and then seek to reclaim it once it becomes profitable.' Xiao urged the Australian government to create a fair, transparent and predictable business environment for Chinese companies in Australia. From China's perspective, this case may serve as a cautionary tale about investing abroad, particularly in certain countries. Australia, after all, is a US ally. But if the port is returned to Australian hands, there would be doubts whether Australia could stand up to US pressure in future. That is why China has spoken up. There is likely to be a much tougher geopolitical environment ahead. Canberra should be mindful of warming bilateral relations, with China having lifted trade bans on Australian exports in December. That is thanks in part to a more pragmatic approach from Canberra to relations with Beijing since ties were damaged years ago by security reforms targeting China and a call for an independent inquiry into the origins of Covid-19.
South China Morning Post
27-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
How Australia can use the Trump tariff pause to stabilise ties with China
Australia stands at a critical crossroads in its relationship with China . Recent news of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's planned second official visit signals yet another step in stabilising the Australia-China relationship. The timing is notable: the 90-day pause in the US-China tariff war gives Australia the opportunity to pursue its own trade and diplomatic interests in a shifting regional landscape. Advertisement As a middle power with a small population and an export-driven economy, Australia has long managed a dual dependency with its security underpinned by the United States and its economic prosperity driven by China . In 2023, China bought more than A$219 billion (US$142 billion) worth of Australian exports, nearly one-third of Australia's total global exports. Since taking power in 2022, the Albanese government has overseen a thaw in relations. The prime minister's 2023 visit to Beijing marked a diplomatic reset, followed by Canberra's suspension of two World Trade Organization cases against China. In late 2024, Beijing lifted its remaining trade restrictions on Australian goods. At present, Canberra's approach is framed as 'cooperate where we can, disagree where we must', but there are persistent differences, such as over the South China Sea and China's expanding influence in the Pacific Islands . Concurrently, concerns about the reliability of an increasingly transactional US administration add urgency to Australia's efforts to cultivate a stable, constructive relationship with China. Advertisement Against this backdrop, Australia has a strategic window to recalibrate its China policy. Despite ongoing challenges, there are three clear steps it can take to strengthen and future-proof bilateral ties.
News.com.au
26-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Chinese ambassador Xiao Qian hits out over ‘ethically questionable' Port of Darwin lease buyback
The Chinese ambassador to Australia says Anthony Albanese's promise to boot a Chinese company from operating the Port of Darwin is 'ethically questionable,' urging the government to honour the 99-year lease. In a statement released by the embassy on Sunday night, Xiao Qian criticised Australia's 'ethically questionable' behaviour and said port owners Landbridge Group had made 'significant investments' after winning a 99-year lease in 2015 for $506m. The comments follow an election promise to buy back the lease, with the Prime Minister threatening direct intervention if the government is unable to find a new buyer. 'These efforts have brought remarkable improvements to the port, turning its financial situation from losses to profits and contributing positively to local economic and social development,' Mr Xiao said. 'Such an enterprise and project deserves encouragement, not punishment. 'It is ethically questionable to lease the port when it was unprofitable and then seek to reclaim it once it becomes profitable.' Mr Xiao said Landbridge Group had undertaken an 'open and transparent bidding process' to secure the commercial contract and urged the Australian government to honour its binding commitments. While he acknowledged that Australia and China were 'comprehensive strategic partners', Mr Xiao said the countries needed to 'foster mutual trust'. 'We hope the Australian side will view the Darwin Port project objectively, honour its binding commitments under the contract and respect the autonomous decisions made by businesses based on development needs,' he said. 'We hope the Australian federal government and the Northern Territory government will create a fair, transparent, and predictable business environment for Chinese enterprises operating in Australia.' As it stands, Australia's special envoy for defence and northern Australia Luke Gosling has confirmed he has met with new buyers and said he was committed to ensuring a 'good return on investment for the Chinese owners Landbridge'. Returning the port's ownership to Australian hands was sparked by concerns the critical piece of infrastructure should not be owned by a foreign entity. It was leased to the Landbridge Group in 2015 under the Country Liberal territory government, reportedly taking the federal government by surprise. Landbridge has also maintained the port is not for sale, and confirmed on Monday that it has yet to receive any engagements from any level of government. 'It is business as usual at Darwin Port, as we continue to focus on the growth of our operations,' said the group's Australian non-executive director Terry O'Connor. 'Darwin port representatives escorted the Ambassador on a tour of the port during his recent visit to Darwin.
The Independent
15-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Australian prime minister speaks of Beijing prisoner's courage, resilience and hope
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday spoke of the courage, resilience and hope of Australian citizen Yang Hengjun, who was convicted last year in China of espionage. The plight of the 59-year-old Chinese-born democracy blogger, who was arrested on arrival in China on a flight from New York in 2019, remains an impediment to an improving bilateral relationship between Canberra and Beijing. Albanese said Yang had recently written to him from a Beijing prison. 'It was a message of profound courage and resilience and hope despite his difficult circumstances,' Albanese told reporters in Jakarta, where he was making his first overseas visit since his government was reelected on May 3. 'We continue to advocate for Dr. Yang's interests and wellbeing at every opportunity and I have certainly asked our ambassador to convey that very directly to Dr. Yang,' Albanese added. Australian sentenced to death Yang was found guilty of espionage following a closed court trial in February last year and sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve. Such sentences are often commuted to life in prison after the two years. Albanese has raised Yang's detention in meetings with China's leaders since the prime minister's center-left Labor Party was first elected in 2022. Since that election, Beijing has lifted a ban on minister-to-minister communications with Australia and removed a series of official and unofficial trade barriers that had cost Australian exporters up to 20 billion Australian dollars ($13 billion) a year. In Yang's letter to Albanese, a copy of which was provided to The Associated Press on Thursday by a supporter of the prisoner, he wrote that the support of the government and Australian Embassy staff had 'helped me to bear what has been untold and unbearable suffering.' Prisoner loves both Australia and China 'I feel all of your support beside me as I stagger through the hardest and darkest chapter of my life, allowing me to immerse in the warmth of humanity,' Yang wrote. 'I deeply love Australia,' Yang wrote. 'I ardently love China.' Yang expected he would one day sit side by side with his readers 'sharing laughter, tears and dreams.' 'Dear Prime Minister Albanese, words are now failing me. Tears blur my vision. I can only use a silent voice to thank you and all the people who care for and love me,' Yang wrote.
