Sanctions top agenda
Albanese vows to stand firm with China
BEIJING must lift $20bn in economic sanctions against Australia as a first step to stabilise relations, says Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who said he would not “compromise” on values ahead of a potential meeting with his Chinese counterpart.
Speculation is mounting the Prime Minster will meet China’s President Xi Jinping or Premier Li Keqiang on the sidelines of either the G20 summit in Bali or Asia-pacific Economic Co-operation in Bangkok.
Mr Albanese was to arrive in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Friday evening before the
Association of South East Asian Nations summit – the first stop on an eight-day trip during which he is expected to discuss pressing security and economic issues with world leaders.
The PM said he and Mr Xi would be at the same meetings, but a formal bilateral was not confirmed.
“Dialogue is always good, a meeting is not locked in at this point in time,” he said.
Mr Albanese said he wanted to see a “stabilisation in the relationship” with China, but Australia would not compromise on its national interests or on standing up for human rights.
“What I want to see with the relationship with China is co-operation where we can, but we, of course, will maintain our Australian values where we must,” he said.
Mr Albanese said the first thing Australia would want from China would be to lift economic sanctions against products and resources.
“They’re not in Australia’s interests of the wine industry, the meat industry and other industries where sanctions have been placed on, but it’s also not in the interests of China,” he said.
“This is a counterproductive measure because the products Australia sells to China are the best quality products, in my view, in the world.”
The last prime minister to hold formal talks with Mr Xi was Malcolm Turnbull in 2017, while Scott Morrison only exchanged brief remarks with the Chinese President on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, in 2019. There has been no leader-level contact in the three years since.
During the three summits Mr Albanese is expected to meet new UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and there is also the possibility of a catch-up with US President Joe Biden.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be attending the G20 summit, which will feature discussions on the economic fallout from his illegal invasion of Ukraine.
Mr Albanese said the international community should continue to call on Mr Putin to “back off”.
“If Russia were to withdraw,
then we would see not just an improvement in the global economy, but importantly as well, it should be clear to Mr Putin that this action has led to the isolation of Russia,” he said. “And, of course, the most basic fact is that it’s causing a loss of life and trauma and distress.”