Chinese media outlets were keen to accentuate the positives of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s visit to China. However, sections of the Australian media played up the idea that China was attempting to drive a wedge between Australia and the United States and members of the Australian opposition criticised the visit, calling some of Albanese’s stops “indulgent”.
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The visit achieved much in some areas, but otherwise made little progress.
Despite reported efforts by Elbridge Colby, US undersecretary of defence for policy, to seemingly sabotage the visit, Albanese deftly refused to allow questions about Taiwan to divert him from his mission of reaffirming the improvement of Australia-China relations.
But if Albanese was trying to convince Chinese investors that Australia is a reliable place to invest in, he sabotaged himself. This is best summed up by the Australian Financial Review headline “PM stares down China retaliation threat over Darwin Port sale”.
The Albanese government is moving to overturn the China-based company Landbridge Group’s 99-year lease on the port of Darwin just a decade into the lease period. It would be difficult to find a better and more pertinent example of Australia’s limited reliability when it comes to long-term investment from China.
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China remains an attractive market for Australian goods, so much of the visit focused on economic opportunities for Australian business relationships with China. Albanese’s efforts were a bare nod to the hard work that has been undertaken in difficult conditions by Australian businesses committed to the Chinese market.
