On The Radar: Australia and China

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong meets her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing today, signalling a significant readjustment in Australia-China relations.

The visit’s being seen as the latest and most significant step by the Albanese government to get the tension of the last few years behind them and begin work on developing trade and other initiatives with Australia’s biggest trading partner.

Canberra is buzzing with suggestions the Australian PM will himself make the trip to Beijing in the new year, in what would be the beginning of a new era in relations between the two countries. The Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell is also expected in Beijing next year sometime.

Penny Wong is the first Australian Foreign Minister to visit China in four years, and she is there hoping to agree further relaxation of tariff sanctions on Australian goods worth some $20 billion.

Also on the list is the Australian desire to get back to regular dialogues with Beijing on policy differences and other issues as they crop up. Discussions over climate change policy are perhaps the best example. 

The Foreign Ministers meet 50 years to the day since Canberra and Beijing set up diplomatic ties, and the visit is set to be a perfect opportunity for Australia to emphasise history, and the value of a long-standing and independent bilateral relationship.

Penny Wong is not making any assumptions on where the meeting may take the China-Australia relationship, and any immediate breakthroughs on trade sticking points seems unlikely. But Australia in late 2022 is at least dealing with China as it is, not as Canberra would like it to be.

For the Albanese government, the China policy seems more and more one of political nuance, of cooperation where possible and disagreement where necessary.

It’s a policy that has worked for governments across the globe, including the current NZ government, but as Australia seeks to come out of the diplomatic freezer with China, it may find the defrost to be a slow and uneven one.

Penny Wong has described Australia’s relationship with China as a “comprehensive strategic partnership”, and that will surely be received favourably in Beijing, where accusations regarding China’s “economic coercion” of Australia landed with a crash.

The oft-quoted Australian PM John Howard’s advice that Australia should “focus on areas where we agree rather than obsessing about areas where we don’t agree”, is a timely reminder that bilateral relations between Australia and China are a work in progress. That work appears to be underway in earnest.

- Asia Media Centre