On Australian PM’s visit to China, the 2 nations ‘hold back’ on disputes

Beijing has set aside major disputes with Canberra and instead filled Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s six-day visit to China this week with a slew of trade and investment deals, a move analysts said was an effort to find common ground amid trade tensions with the United States.

The deals include the potential widening of access to the Chinese market for Australian farm produce and coal, cooperation in the digitalisation of the financial sector, investment in greenfield projects and potential tariff cuts for Australian agricultural exports, according to a source with knowledge of their content.

There has been no mention of any discussion on the future of Darwin Port, which the Australian government wants to take back from a Chinese company on national security grounds, with the source saying the two sides had decided to step back from the controversy.

Albanese’s visit, which has included meetings with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang, began in Shanghai on Saturday and will end on Friday, with details of the deals expected to be released after it is wrapped up.

According to an official readout from Xinhua, Li raised Australian scrutiny of Chinese investments in two hours of talks with Albanese on Tuesday, asking for “a fair, open and non-discriminatory business environment” for Chinese investors.

Li did not explicitly mention Darwin Port.