Time for 'noble mission'

As Australia makes an effort to improve ties with China, it's crucial to push China-Australia relations back on the right track

Prior to his visit to China, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was careful to manage Australian expectations of a breakthrough in relations. However, the results of his cordial and diplomatic approach to China yielded results that exceeded his imagination.

The first visit to China by an Australian prime minister in seven years has been welcomed in both Australia and China. Albanese arrived in Shanghai on Nov 4 in a clear sign of significant improvement in what had become a fractured relationship.

Albanese's visit reflects an approach that hinges on two dimensions. One is dominated by security briefings and the other a practical recognition of Australia's dependence on trade with China. And it is hoped the visit will add a third dimension, giving Albanese an opportunity to see China as it is, and not as it is filtered through the lenses of security advisors.

Albanese started his visit from the sixth China International Import Expo in Shanghai, an appropriate starting point given the focus on the essentials of trade, the foundation for Australia's economic prosperity. China is Australia's largest trading partner, accounting for around $220 billion in two-way trade in 2022. With more than one in four of Australia's export dollars derived from China, the Australian economy needs more trade ties with China.

In Shanghai, Albanese inspected pavilions where more than 200 businesses were showcasing Australia's engagement with China. Over the past year, China's imports of Australian goods and services have surpassed $130 billion. The last time an Australian prime minister visited China in 2016, the value of trade was less than $60 billion.

Australia is encouraged to believe that China needs Australia as much as Australia needs China. However, there is a misplaced belligerence in the relationship where Australia believed it could, and still can, lecture and scold China with impunity. It is a quaint belief that led to unprecedented levels of bellicosity under previous Australian governments.

Thanks to Foreign Minister Penny Wong, and with the support of Prime Minister Albanese, the overt bellicosity of past Australian governments has dipped considerably. However, it has not disappeared, with even Albanese stressing on his government's mantra of: "We must cooperate with China where we can, we will disagree where we must, but we'll also engage in our national interest."

Australian business is optimistic about the future of the commercial relationship. A survey by Aust-Cham in Shanghai found that more than half of the survey's respondents were optimistic about market opportunities and growing profitability in China over the next two years. Almost 66 percent planned to maintain or increase their investment levels in China.

Lurking behind the mask of improved trade and communication is a building storm over trade barriers erected by Australia in conjunction with the United States. Chief among these are the barriers against China's continued participation in the ever-widening net of what is defined as strategic mineral development. China plays an inescapable role for Australian critical minerals because they invested in the exploration and processing of these minerals long before the rest of the world considered them to be "critical". Pressure to sell these investments, or action to restrict off-take sales, will provide future points of trade friction that will test the sincerity of Albanese's commitments in the current visit.

Australia has approached the visit with specific objectives, intent on opening dialogue, and being "patient, calibrated and deliberate".These are a welcome starting point on what China's ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian called a "noble mission" to work with "the Australian government and friends in all sectors, to push the China-Australia relations back on the right track". The results were beyond expectation.

The author is an international financial technical analyst and a former national board member of the Australia China Business Council. The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily.

Contact the editor at editor@chinawatch.cn.