No shift in defence policy
SYDNEY/WASHINGTON - A meeting between Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Chinese President Xi Jinping is a step towards normalising ties after years of diplomatic freeze but would not bring a shift in Canberra’s defence policy, Australian diplomats said.
The leaders met for 30 minutes on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Indonesia, Australia’s first bilateral meeting with Mr Xi since 2016. In public comments, both leaders acknowledged the difficulties in the relationship, and the need to manage their differences.
Mr Albanese said the AUKUS alliance with Britain and the United States to transfer nuclear submarine capability to Australia, which was opposed by China, was not raised in the meeting by Mr Xi.
Australia’s ambassador to the United States, Arthur Sinodinos, said Canberra wanted to “take some of the heat out of the relationship” after dealing with China’s “economic and trade coercion”.
Australia asked China to remove trade sanctions imposed on a raft of agricultural and mineral exports. Speaking about the Albanese-Xi meeting at an International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) event in Washington on Tuesday, Sinodinos said Australia’s desire for a “more normal relationship with China”, particularly on trade, did not mean a change in its strategic policy settings.
“Our values and interests are reflected by the decisions we’ve taken by our participation in the Quad leaders meeting, our involvement in the creation of AUKUS with the US and the UK,” he said.
“And it’s reflected in the action we’re now taking in terms of our military buildup, which is going to become quite significant over the next few years,” he added.
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