Latest news with #ShanghaiPortFootballClub
AU Financial Review
a day 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.
West Australian
a day ago
- Business
- West Australian
PM backs status quo on Taiwan in face of US pressure to reveal intent in case of China invasion
Anthony Albanese has declined to reveal whether Australia would join the United States in a war with China over Taiwan or commit to deploying any of the nuclear-powered submarines it obtains under the AUKUS program. Reports that the Pentagon was urging Canberra to clarify its role in a potential conflict over the democratic island that Beijing has repeatedly threatened to invade landed with awkward timing for the Prime Minister. He arrived in Shanghai on Saturday night for a six-day China tour focused on boosting economic and trade ties. Sunday began with a sunny walk along the financial metropolis' iconic Bund with players and coaches from the Shanghai Port Football Club. It was soon overshadowed, however, by a report in the Financial Times that Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby had been pushing both Australia and Japan to offer assurances about their responses if a great power conflict was triggered over the strategically located Pacific island. Asked about the reported US demands during a press conference at headquarters to promote the Australian tourism sector, Mr Albanese suggested a position of strategic ambiguity, while adding that 'mature' conversations were happening in private. The Prime Minister said Australia's 'aim of investing in our capabilities as well as investing in our relationships is about advancing peace and security in our region.' China's ruling Communist Party has made territorial claims over Taiwan, even though it has never governed there, and has threatened to take the democracy of 23.5 million by force if it refuses to unify with the mainland. When it came to Australian deterrence strategies to avoid future conflict, Mr Albanese said it was '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,' he said. 'What's important when it comes to international relationships is that you have a stable, orderly, coherent position going forward,' he added. 'We don't want any change to the status quo. That's Australia's position today. That was Australia's position last week. That's been a bipartisan position for a long period of time.' The Financial Times reported that Australian and Japanese officials had been caught off guard by the Pentagon's demands which went further than previous public calls from the White House for allies to raise military spending and take on more of the burden of collective defence. The deepening pressure for a commitment to a Taiwan contingency is all the more surprising as the US itself has an official policy of 'strategic ambiguity' on Taiwan, under which it does not say if it would defend the island if attacked by China. Mr Albanese was asked if it was 'reasonable for the United States to demand any sort of assurances from Australia on a Taiwan contingency, given the United States itself maintains a policy of strategic ambiguity?' 'You just answered the question yourself, I think, through the comments that you've made,' he responded. Elbridge Colby, a known China hawk who has long advocated for US allies to pick up more of the collective defence burden, is currently spearheading a review of the trilateral $368bn AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine pact that is central to Australia's national security strategy. In response to a tweet about the FT article overnight, Mr Colby neither dismissed the report nor referred directly to specific demands but he doubled down with a stern message that the US defence department was 'focussed on implementing the President's America First, common sense agenda of restoring deterrence and achieving peace through strength.' He said this included urging allies to 'step up their defence spending and other efforts related to our collective defence,' which had been a hallmark of the Trump strategy in Asia and Europe. 'Of course, some among our allies might not welcome frank conversations. But many, now led by NATO after the historic Hague Summit, are seeing the urgent need to step up and are doing so. President Trump has shown the approach and the formula - and we will not be deterred from advancing his agenda,' he said. In an interview on ABC Insiders on Sunday, Acting Defence Minister Pat Conroy said Australia had been advised that the much-awaited AUKUS review had not yet been completed. But he said the Government was confident the assessment would support the defence pact.
Perth Now
3 days ago
- Business
- Perth Now
Albo eyes tourism in six-day China trip
Anthony Albanese will hero Australia's tourism links with China during his six-day trip to Shanghai, Beijing and Chengdu, with the Prime Minister stressing the importance of the $312bn trading relationship. China is Australia's biggest trading partner, with the two-way goods and services trade larger than Australia's next three partners – Japan, South Korea and the United States – combined. In what will be Mr Albanese's second trip to China since becoming Prime Minister, Mr Albanese will engage in a spot of football diplomacy and hold a media event on Sunday with the Shanghai Port Football Club, which is led by ex-Socceroos defender Kevin Muscat. He will also visit the Shanghai headquarters of – the world's largest online travel sit and the parent company behind Skyscanner, Qunar and MakeMyTrip. In the 12 months to March 2025, 860,000 trips from mainland China to Australia were completed, representing a total spend valued at $9.2bn and about a quarter of total short-term international visitor spend in Australia. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will depart for China on Saturday. NewsWire/ Nikki Short Credit: News Corp Australia Australia is China's largest market by spend and second in inbound tourist number behind New Zealand. Chinese tourists were a top five visitor market for every state and territory bar the NT in 2024, and the top international visitor market in NSW, Victoria and the ACT. While figures have yet returned to pre-pandemic levels, Australia was relisted as an approved destination for Chinese group tours in September 2023, with more than 4500 trips organised by travel agents completed since. Australia to China tourism levels have also surged by 73.6 per cent year-on-year to February 2025, with Aussie tourists eligible for visa-free travel for trips under 30 days. 'Australia's economic relationship with China is important, but so are the community links that underpin it and help build on it,' Mr Albanese said ahead of the visit. 'Whether that's our vibrant Australian-Chinese community, Australian footballers in Shanghai or Chinese tourists in Sydney.' Tourism will also likely be a key issue during Mr Albanese's visit to Chengdu in the country's southwest, which is the birthplace of Xing Qiu and Yi Lan – the two giant pandas at Adelaide Zoo. Giant Pandas Xing Qiu and Yi Lan at Adelaide Zoo. ZoosSA Credit: Supplied They've called Adelaide Zoo their home since December 2024. ZoosSA Credit: Supplied Trade talk will also be a key feature of talks, with the Business Council of Australia leading a delegation of leaders from the resources, banking and university sector for the Australia-China CEO Roundtable in Beijing. On Friday, Mr Albanese again summarised Australia's relationship with the superpower as 'agreeing and co-operating where we can, disagreeing where we must, but engaging in our national interest'. He said discussions will detail 'the full range of issues', with Australia also likely to speak about the detention of Australian-Chinese writer Yang Hengjun and live fire drills undertaken by the Chinese navy in the Tasman Sea. 'Because engaging in our national interest is important for our security, to be able to raise issues in a one-on-one situation with the Chinese leadership,' he said. 'But of course, it's important for our economic relationship as well. The relationship with China means jobs in Australia. It's as simple as that.'
