Latest news with #USChinaRelations
Daily Mail
13 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Pauline Hanson loses it at Anthony Albanese - and claims he has committed a very dangerous act
One Nation leader has slammed Anthony Albanese for meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping before seeing Donald Trump in person. The Prime Minister on Tuesday met with the Communist Party leader in Beijing where Chinese security guards in the authoritarian, one-party state also clashed with Australian journalists covering the diplomatic mission. Senator Hanson said Albanese's visit to China, Australia's biggest trading partner, had jeopardised diplomatic relations with the United States, Australia's biggest defence ally since World War II. 'While Anthony Albanese tours China, our alliance with the United States, the one that keeps Australia safe, is being sidelined,' she said. 'The message? Labor's more comfortable in Beijing than standing shoulder to shoulder with our closest ally.' Albanese's visit to China comes after Colby Elbridge, the US Undersecretary of Defence, this week asked if the likes of Australia would join the US in defending Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion of the island it considers part of China. The Trump Administration is frustrated that Australia's defence spending languishes at just two per cent of gross domestic product, a level well short of the 3.5 per cent level Washington wants. Elbridge wants US allies to match what the United States has spent on defence, as proportion of the economy since the 1990s, arguing countries like Australia needed to 'step up their defence spending and other efforts related to our collective defence'. Senator Hanson said the Americans were right to be concerned about whether Australia would come to the US's aid in defending Taiwan, an autonomous democracy China wants to politically integrate with the mainland. 'The Americans are asking a simple, fair question: if China invades Taiwan, where does Australia stand? Albanese won't answer. That silence speaks volumes,' she said. The Trump Administration is also reviewing the AUKUS submarine deal set to cost Australia $368billion, giving it access to American-designed Virginia Class submarines. 'Let's not forget we're in the middle of a $368billion AUKUS deal,' Senator Hanson said. 'They're offering us nuclear submarines. And Labor can't even show basic respect, let alone commitment. 'This isn't leadership. It's dangerous. It puts our security, sovereignty and future at risk.' Albanese's chances of meeting with Trump have been diminished after it emerged that Australia's Ambassador to the United States, former Labor prime minister Kevin Rudd, had previously described the President as a 'village idiot'. UK Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer has already met with President Trump and has also promised to increase defence spending to three per cent of GDP by 2029, rising to five per cent by 2035. The UK is a member of NATO, a 32-member body that requires all its signatory nations, including the US, Germany, Canada and France, to react militarily if any of its members are invaded. Ukraine, which Russia invaded in 2022, is not a NATO member. But under the 1951 ANZUS treaty, the Americans are only required to consult Australia if another country attacks us, but not necessarily send in troops. Australia has since joined the US-led campaigns in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. Albanese revealed that his government's buyback of the Port of Darwin, announced during the election campaign, was not raised during his visit. 'I cannot be clearer than to say it was not raised,' he said. A former Northern Territory Country Liberal Party government led by former chief minister Adam Giles signed a 99-year lease with the Chinese Landbridge Group in October 2015. Senator Hanson had accused Albanese of talking about 'green steel' instead of raising Taiwan or the Port of Darwin.' 'While Australians are being hit with soaring power bills and rising taxes, Anthony Albanese spent six days in China talking about "green steel",' she said. 'Not Taiwan. Not Chinese spy ships. Not the Port of Darwin, leased to a billionaire with ties to the Communist Party. Just vague platitudes and champagne toasts. 'He skipped meeting a key AUKUS ally in the US, but found time to wine and dine in Beijing. That's not leadership, it's dangerous neglect.'
Bloomberg
2 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Albanese's Balancing Act Between US and China
Good morning, it's Carmeli coming to you from another cold Sydney morning with all the latest headlines. Today's must-reads: • Albanese walks fine line between US and China • Australia opposes changes to Taiwan status quo • Trump threatens 100% tariffs on Russia While Prime Minister Anthony Albanese traveled to China determined to focus on trade and jobs, navigating the tensions between the US and China, particularly over security flashpoints like Taiwan, will loom over this trip all week. He was effusive during his first two days in Shanghai on the prospect of greater trade between the two nations, but he played down questions on defense spending and Taiwan.
South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Li Cheng and Andy Browne discuss what Trump gets wrong about China and where next for ties
Welcome to Open Dialogue, a new series from the Post where we bring together leading voices to discuss the stories and subjects occupying international headlines. In this edition, two leading China watchers discuss the consequential relationship between the world's two largest economies and how ties might develop under the second Donald Trump administration amid growing trade frictions. Professor Li Cheng, a leading political scientist who has studied China for decades, is the founding director of the University of Hong Kong's Centre on Contemporary China and the World. He previously spent 17 years at the Washington-based Brookings Institution, which included heading up the think tank's John L. Thornton China Centre. Andrew Browne is an award-winning journalist who has covered China for The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Reuters and the South China Morning Post. More recently, he was a partner at advisory firm The Brunswick Group, where he advised some of the world's largest companies on geopolitical strategy from his New York base. The past few months have been a roller-coaster ride for US-China relations, beginning with President Donald Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs, followed by the tit-for-tat trade war and then trade negotiations. What are your assessments of the health of bilateral ties and how do you see things unfolding? Li: China certainly feels that the pressure is not just on China. Of course, China is a major trading partner of the US, but the US is not China's No 1 or No 2 trading partner and trade with the US is only 16 per cent of China's entire foreign trade – we should put that into perspective.
South China Morning Post
4 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
China's Wang Yi says deeper US exchanges on the cards after talks with Rubio
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the sit-down with his American counterpart Marco Rubio in Kuala Lumpur on Friday had set the stage for deeper exchanges. Speaking to Chinese media on Saturday, Wang said the talks had helped to manage US-China differences as the rival powers seek to manage tensions amid rising trade frictions. Both sides recognised that they represented the most important bilateral relationship in the world, with an impact beyond their respective borders, he added. 'The meeting was constructive, with both sides engaging in equal dialogue in the spirit of mutual respect,' Wang said, according to a statement from his ministry. 'I believe that it has enhanced the US' understanding of China and paved the way for the next step of exchanges between the two countries' diplomatic teams.' The statement said Wang spoke to the Chinese press after attending the Asean and East Asia-related meetings in the Malaysian capital but did not say where the interaction took place. Friday's talks, Wang added, could be summarised as having strengthened engagement, prevented misjudgments, managed differences, and expanded cooperation between the two countries.
Malay Mail
5 days ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
US-China tensions ease slightly after ‘positive' Rubio-Wang meeting in KL, but no breakthrough yet
KUALA LUMPUR, July 12 — US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chinese top diplomat Wang Yi had a 'positive' meeting in Malaysia yesterday, both sides said, in an apparent bid to ease tensions between the rival powers. Rubio and Wang's first face-to-face meeting since US President Donald Trump returned to office came as Washington and Beijing are locked in disputes ranging from trade to Taiwan — and both countries vie for greater influence in the region. 'I thought it was a very constructive and positive meeting,' Rubio told reporters after the hour-long talks in capital Kuala Lumpur, but he stressed: 'It was not a negotiation.' 'I think we left it feeling as there's some areas we're gonna be able to work together on.' Rubio was also optimistic that a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping would happen. 'There's a strong desire on both sides to do it,' Rubio said, adding no date was set. Beijing said in a statement 'both sides agreed that the meeting was positive, pragmatic and constructive'. Both countries agreed to 'enhance communication and dialogue through diplomatic channels... and explore expanding cooperation areas while managing differences,' China's foreign ministry said. The sit-down between Wang and Rubio, a longtime China hawk, came as Asian foreign ministers wrapped up three days of talks at an Association of Southeast Asian Nations gathering in Kuala Lumpur. Top diplomats from Russia, the European Union, Australia, Britain and Canada also attended. 'Not sustainable ' US officials said ahead of Rubio's first trip to the region as secretary of state that Washington was 'prioritising' its commitment to East and Southeast Asia. While US tariffs overshadowed the gathering, Rubio said he was 'warmly received' by Asian partners as he sought to placate concerns over the duties. 'If you look at some of these trade deficits, they're massive. That has to be addressed,' Rubio said at the end of his whirlwind trip. 'Everybody here is a mature leader who understands that that's not sustainable.' Trump has threatened punitive tariffs ranging from 20 to 50 percent against more than 20 countries, many in Asia, if they do not strike deals with Washington by August 1. ASEAN described the tariffs as 'counterproductive' and a threat to regional growth, according to a joint statement released Friday. Long-time US ally Japan faces a 25 percent across-the-board levy, separate from similar charges already imposed on cars, steel and aluminium. South Korea faces a similar tariff. Rubio met his Japanese and South Korean counterparts on Friday, with his spokeswoman Tammy Bruce calling it an 'indispensable relationship'. Wang told Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim earlier Friday that Washington's 'unilateral imposition of high tariffs is irresponsible and unpopular,' according to a foreign ministry statement. Malaysia's Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan told a closing news conference the ASEAN meeting mentioned 'each country's concerns respectively' regarding tariffs. Tensions between the United States and China have ratcheted up since Trump took office in January, with both countries engaging in a tariff war that briefly sent duties on each other's exports sky-high. Deep mistrust Washington hit China with additional levies of 145 percent on its goods as both sides engaged in tit-for-tat escalation, while China's countermeasures on US goods reached 125 percent. Beijing and Washington agreed in May to temporarily slash the staggering tariffs — an outcome Trump dubbed a 'total reset'. However, deep mistrust remains between the two countries, with each suspecting the other of trying to weaken its influence. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth accused China in late May of 'credibly preparing to potentially use military force to alter the balance of power' in the Asia-Pacific region. He also claimed that Beijing 'trains every day' to invade self-ruled Taiwan, which China claims as part of its territory. In response, Chinese diplomats accused the United States of using the Taiwan issue to 'contain China' and called on Washington to stop 'playing with fire'. — AFP
