Albanese has ‘short’, ‘constructive’ chat with Chinese leader at East Asia Summit, invites US president to address Australian Parliament
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has described his conversation with the Chinese premier on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Cambodia as “short” and “constructive”.
The Australian leader also held bilateral talks with US President Joe Biden, who he invited to address Parliament, and issued a message to Russia about its “illegal” war in Ukraine.
In a new sign the severely strained relationship between Australia and China is getting back on track, Albanese said he had a “very positive” chat on Sunday with Premier Li Keqiang, the second most powerful man in the country.
The pair spoke for two minutes through interpreters after arriving at the gala dinner in Phnom Penh, in what is the most significant meeting between Australia and China for three years.
“I think it’s a good thing that happened,” Albanese said.
“I’ve said repeatedly about the relationship with China, that we should cooperate where we can, and that dialogue is always a good thing. And last night’s dialogue was very positive.”
The prime minister said the main discussion was about the upcoming 50th commemoration of Australia’s diplomatic relationship with China.
Leaders from across the Indo-Pacific are meeting alongside a summit of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders, followed next week by a meeting of the Group of 20 (G20) leaders in Bali and of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Bangkok.
Albanese’s meeting with Li sparked hope among other Australian politicians of a softening of the rising tensions between the two countries.
“I hope he can meet with the Chinese president. That would be a good thing for our nation,” Nationals leader David Littleproud said.
Albanese is still hopeful for a meeting with China’s president Xi Jinping at the G20 summit on Monday.
Albanese also met US president Joe Biden at the summit during formal sideline bilateral talks.
Anthony Albanese has invited US President Joe Biden to address the Australian Parliament after a “warm” meeting with his counterpart on the sidelines of a key regional summit.
The leaders spoke for about 40 minutes on Sunday on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Albanese said they discussed the AUKUS agreement that also includes the United Kingdom, action on climate change and engagement with the Pacific region.
“It was a really warm engagement. All of my engagement with President Biden has been engagement between friends,” Albanese said.
“I think we relate to each other pretty well. We come from similar backgrounds.”
Biden will have a highly anticipated meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday.
Speaking about an earlier meeting with Korea and Japan, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said he wanted to speak to his “closest allies” about how to approach China.
“‘What would you like me to raise? What do you want me to go in with?’ That’s the kind of style that he takes to his engagement with the PRC generally and with Xi specifically,” Sullivan said.
Albanese refused to reveal whether Biden had come to him with such questions.
“It’s unlikely that I would come to a press conference, and disclose the details of the private discussions that I’ve had with President Biden,” he said.
“We have a good relationship, the way that you keep good relationships is to treat people with respect and I treat the President of the United States with the respect that that high office deserves.”
A readout of the conversation released by the White House hailed Albanese’s “leadership” on climate change and highlighted “the climate and energy transition partnership as a new pillar of the US-Australia relationship”.
“The future of the United States, Australia and the Indo-Pacific region are inextricably linked,” the readout noted.
Biden also thanked Australia “for standing with the United States and the world to impose costs on Russia for its unprovoked war on Ukraine”.
Albanese has ruled out seeking a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who’s representing his country’s delegation at both summits.
But the prime minister said he “didn’t miss” the Russian when he addressed the the crowd in Cambodia.
He said the war in Ukraine was illegal – and highlighted Australia’s AUKUS security pact for nuclear-powered submarines.
“I pointed out that Russia’s actions were causing enormous human toll, that it was an illegal invasion that was having an impact on the people of Ukraine,” he said.
“But also that it was a breach of the international rule of law and that it was having economic consequences in rising costs of inflation through energy prices throughout the world and I condemned the invasion, as you would expect.
“My comments in the room with him present were consistent with the comments that I’ve made publicly and privately over a long period of time since the invasion.”
The ASEAN summit is an opportunity for members of the 10-country bloc and others to discuss peace plans and solutions to rising tensions in the south-east Asia region.
The summit’s official priorities of health, sustainable energy and digital transformation are likely to be overshadowed by fears of a sputtering global economy and geopolitical tensions centred on the war in Ukraine.
US president pledges to work with south east Asian nations
One of those discussions included when Biden pledged the US would work with a strategically vital coalition of southeast Asian nations, telling leaders that “we’re going to build a better future that we all want to see” in the region where US rival China is also working to expand its influence.
“I look forward to continuing our work together with ASEAN and with each one of you to deepen peace and prosperity throughout the region to resolve challenges from the South China Sea to Myanmar and to find innovative solutions to shared challenges,” Biden said.
The US is at odds with China over a host of issues, including human rights, technology and the future of the self-ruled island of Taiwan.
Biden said he plans to talk with Xi about topics including Taiwan, trade policies and Beijing’s relationship with Russia.
“What I want to do … is lay out what each of our red lines are,” Biden said last week.
China’s stunning military build-up in disputed sea revealed
‘Russia should – must – stop playing hunger games with world’
Despite rising tensions between China and the rest of the world, the war between Russia and Ukraine rages on – becoming a focal point for peace talks at the summits.
Cambodian leader Hun Sen called for unity, telling a gathering including Russia, China and the United States that current global tensions have been taking a toll on everyone.
The prime minister, whose country holds the rotating chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, said at the opening of the East Asia Summit that it was in the world’s common interest to cooperate to solve differences peacefully.
The comments come as regional tensions remain high between the United States and China over Taiwan and Beijing’s growing regional aspirations, and while the Russia invasion of Ukraine has disrupted global supply chains, causing rising energy and food prices far beyond Europe.
Without singling out any nation by name, Hun Sen said he hoped leaders would embrace a “spirit of togetherness in upholding open and inclusive multilateralism, pragmatism and mutual respect in addressing the existential and strategic challenges we all face.”
“Many current challenges and tensions have been hindering our past hard-earned efforts to promote sustainable development and causing greater hardship to people’s lives,” he said as he opened the meeting, which is running in parallel to the ASEAN group’s main summit.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba asked yesterday for more political and material support from nations at the ASEAN summit to aid his country’s fight against Russia.
He also accused Moscow of playing “hunger games” with the world by holding up shipments of Ukrainian grain and other agricultural products.
Kuleba said that with a deal allowing Ukraine to export grain and fertiliser due to expire November 19, the world needed to pressure Russia not to object to its extension, saying Ukrainian products were critical in Africa and Asia.
Not only does Russia have “to remain part of the initiative, it also has to instruct its inspectors to act in good faith and to avoid any measures, any steps, that create obstacles and hinder the export of Ukrainian agricultural goods to the global market,” he said.
Kuleba’s country was invited to the ASEAN summit for the first time this year and signed a peace accord with the group of nations with a combined population of nearly 700 million people.
