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 reference to a saying Ronald Reagan used in relation to America’s dealings with the Soviet Union on nuclear disarmament.
In China today, Albanese stopped short of using the word trust, but said he and Xi were building a rapport. Albanese noted the two countries had different political systems but he said his interactions with the president suggested he was a man of his word.
“He has never said anything to me that has not been done,” Albanese said on Monday. “And that’s a positive way that you have to start off dealing with people.
“We recognise that we come from different political systems, very different values arising from that and very different histories, but we deal with each other on face value.
“My job is to represent Australia’s national interests and he is the leader of a different nation with different interests.”
Albanese said his mantra was to “cooperate with China where we can, disagree where we must, and engage in our national interest”. He said he looked forward to meeting Xi in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Monday evening.
“I think there are promising signs,” Albanese said. “We have already seen a number of the impediments to trade between our two nations removed and an uplift already, a substantial uplift, in the trade between our two nations.”
Albanese said de-escalating the trade war with China meant more Australian jobs.
Asked what he would say to Australian mortgage holders ahead of another potential interest rate rise on Tuesday, Albanese said normalising the trade relationship had a positive impact on the economy and on inflation.
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Albanese began his China visit in the country’s commercial capital, Shanghai, attending the country’s largest international trade expo on Saturday before arriving in Beijing on Sunday evening.
The prime minister started his day in Beijing with a tour of the Temple of Heaven – a site Gough Whitlam visited in 1973 when the former Labor prime minister visited the country to open diplomatic relations. Albanese was accompanied by the minister for foreign affairs, Penny Wong, who will meet China’s foreign minister on Monday afternoon in the capital.
Albanese was due on Monday afternoon to meet Zhao Leji, the chair of the National People’s Congress standing committee. The congress is China’s legislature. On Monday evening he will meet Xi in the Great Hall of the People.
Albanese was due on Monday afternoon to meet Zhao Leji, the chair of the National People’s Congress standing committee. The congress is China’s legislature. On Monday evening he will meet Xi in the Great Hall of the People.
Monday’s meeting with the president is Albanese’s second meeting with Xi. After efforts were made by Australia and China to reset the bilateral relationship after the federal election in 2022, the two met for the first time in the margins of the G20 summit in Bali in 2022.
