Just before the Reserve Bank of Australia hiked interest rates, and Without A Fight stormed home in the Melbourne Cup, China’s premier, Li Qiang, adopted a flirtatious tone in Beijing with his guest Anthony Albanese. Tongue firmly in cheek, Li said to the Australian prime minister: “On our way into the hall, I shared with you that I see on social media of China … there are many sharing of short videos about your trip to China … including a video of you running along the river with a yellow…
Tag: Anthony Albanese
Australia news live: Shorten labels Greens’ Senate walkout ‘political grandstanding’; Birmingham says Gaza child deaths a ‘terrible function of war’
From 39m ago Shorten labels Greens’ Senate walkout ‘political grandstanding’ Government services minister Bill Shorten has labelled the Greens decision to walk out of Senate question time yesterday as “political grandstanding”. Yesterday, the Greens stormed out of Senate question time to protest what they say is Albanese government inaction over the conflict in Gaza. You can read more from my colleague Paul Karp here: Speaking to the ABC just earlier, Shorten argued the Greens’ walk out doesn’t help “a single soul anywhere”: I think that is just political grand standing.…
Albanese in China: five things we learned from his talks with Xi Jinping
Anthony Albanese met China’s president Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Monday night. Here are five things that came up when the two leaders spoke for the first time on Chinese soil. Yang Hengjun The prime minister raised the plight of the Australian writer and democracy activist Yang Hengjun. Yang has been detained by China for almost five years. During the diplomatic thaw which played out in the run up to Monday’s meeting, China released the Australian journalist Cheng Lei, who had been detained…
Albanese and Wong evoke Whitlam in bid to defrost China relations
Australia’s relationship with China has been stuck in the bottom compartment of the diplomatic deep freezer since 2020. Given this, it seemed appropriate that Arctic weather heralded the arrival of Anthony Albanese to the Temple of Heaven on Monday morning. When I say Arctic weather, it was cold enough to snap-freeze extremities. The wind ripped across the World Heritage site, sand-blasting rows of ceremonial chrysanthemums and threatening to upend a prime ministerial lectern. One Australian reporter, minus a coat, enfolded himself in bubble wrap to try and maintain some body…
Albanese China trip: PM stops short of saying he trusts Xi but points to ‘promising signs’ with Beijing
Anthony Albanese has stopped short of saying he trusts the Chinese president but says he’s convinced he is building a constructive relationship with Xi Jinping. Ahead of Albanese’s first meeting with Xi on Chinese soil – the first engagement at that level since 2016 – reporters asked the prime minister on Monday whether he was convinced he could trust the Chinese president. During his recent state visit to Washington, the US president, Joe Biden, advised Australia’s prime minister to trust China “but verify” during this attempted rapprochement. This was in…
Pacific Islands Forum: China-US rivalry takes centre stage as Solomon Islands deepens ties with Beijing
Pacific island leaders are descending on the Cook Islands for the region’s most important annual political gathering, with the talks likely to be dominated by the climate crisis and growing US-China rivalry. The Pacific Islands Forum (Pif) is an 18-member grouping of 16 Pacific nations, including Australia and New Zealand, plus two French territories. This year, Solomon Islands – which has drawn closer to China since signing a security agreement in 2022 – is reported to be sending a delegation led by the foreign minister, Jeremiah Manele, not the prime…
Australia news live: Westpac profit surges to $7.2bn despite ‘increase in stress’ for customers
From 30m ago Westpac rewards shareholders after profit surges to $7.2bn Jonathan Barrett Westpac has recorded a 26% lift in annual net profit to $7.2bn after profiting from increased margins on its home and business loan books amid rising interest rates. The bank’s CEO, Peter King, said the result was pleasing and that shareholders would be rewarded with a $1.5bn buyback. He said there had been a “modest increase in stress” among customers due to rising interest rates and elevated inflation. Our mortgage portfolio, which is our largest, is demonstrating…
Albanese to echo Whitlam as he prays for a good harvest in Xi talks
Fifty years ago, Gough Whitlam visited the Temple of Heaven in Beijing as part of an historic visit to China to establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic. Whitlam’s visit to the Beijing landmark produced an iconic image. In the photograph, the newly elected Australian prime minister is captured with his ear to the circular Echo Wall in the world heritage site. In the background, the Australian prime minister is watched by Stephen Fitzgerald, Australia’s first ambassador to China. Five decades later, Australia has a substantial diplomatic presence in the…
Albanese offers gentle rebuke over China’s ‘unnecessary barriers to trade’ at Shanghai expo
Anthony Albanese has delivered an implicit rebuke to China for its strong-arm tactics during Beijing’s protracted trade war with Canberra, telling attenders at a trade expo in Shanghai “Australia and China have prospered thanks to the certainty and stability that is made possible by rules-based trade”. One the first day of official business during his landmark trip to China, Australia’s prime minister spoke at the country’s largest international trade show after the opening remarks of China’s premier, Li Qiang. With premier Li watching on, Albanese noted there was an important…
Albanese arrives in China for landmark visit, says it’s in ‘our national interest’
Anthony Albanese has declared Australia will “cooperate with China where we can, disagree where we must, but … also engage in our national interest” as the prime minister arrived in the People’s Republic for a landmark three day official visit. Albanese touched down in Shanghai on Saturday evening. After being received at the airport by senior diplomats from both countries, the prime minister went immediately to a banquet hosted by China’s premier Li Qiang to open China’s International Import Expo in downtown Shanghai. When he returned from the banquet, the…