BEIJING: Following years of conflicts that reduced billions of dollars in trade, Chinese leader Xi Jinping will welcome Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to Beijing on Monday( Nov 6 ).
Beijing is Canberra’s largest trading partner, but relations deteriorated in 2020 as a result of an investigation into the COVID-19 origins and the then-conservative government of Australia barring Chinese tech giant Huawei from 5G agreements.
Finally, as a enraged Beijing imposed punitive tariffs on numerous American commodities, including wine, barley, and coal, the relationship went into complete ice.
The two leaders’ meeting on Monday is anticipated to be the first of its type in more than seven decades.
Since Albanese took office in May of last year, both nations have pursued a update, and Beijing has loosened the majority of its limits on American goods.
However, Albanese has acknowledged the need to maintain” clear-eyed” awareness of the differences between the two nations and has made clear his opinion that they are not strategically aligned.
In an effort to counter Chinese military might in the Asia-Pacific, Beijing has rebuked Australia’s decision to buy nuclear-powered boats and roiled at its security treaty with the United States and Britain.
Albanese, for his part, has defended individual rights, the right to self-determination, and the preservation of peace, including in the Taiwan Strait, which divides China from the autonomous area it considers to be a part of its own place.
” BENIGN PARTNER”
China does not view itself as a power in favor of the” status quo ,” according to Albanese.
However, according to experts, this week’s high-level gatherings will see Beijing portray itself as a” benevolent and harmless partner” welcoming an errant friend back into the fold.
According to Courtney Fung, a professor in property with Asia Society Australia,” China didn’t want to concentrate on criticisms of its economic force or prisoner diplomacy.”
American journalist Cheng Lei was released by China last month after spending three years in custody on murky spy costs.
The sons of American author Yang Jun, who has been imprisoned in China since 2019 on suspicion of spying, have pleaded with Albanese to present his case and secure the same” magic” for their parents.
Beijing may be eager to present” the journey as Australia recognising its past mistakes ,” according to scientist Yun Sun.
According to Sun of the Washington-based Stimson Center,” It will portray Albanese as being on the right side of history and making the proper decision for the sake of( Australia’s ) economy, especially export industries, including its wine industry.”
” That will be the story of China.”