Beijing congratulates Anthony Albanese as Australia’s 31st Prime Minister, ending a diplomatic freeze between the two countries for more than two years.
China’s Prime Minister Li Keqiang said Beijing is ready to work with the new Australian Labor Party government, according to state media Xinhua.
In his message to the new Prime Minister, Lee said that the stable development of relations between Australia and China would benefit both sides.
He said 2022 marked the 50th anniversary of the Labor government’s establishment of diplomatic relations between Australia and China under former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam.
Lee wrote that the Whitlam administration cut off its ties with Taipei in 1972 and made the “right choice” to formally approve Beijing’s Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
In January 2020, the CCP received a decision to ban Huawei from Australia’s 5G network in 2018 because of concerns about espionage and Australia’s strong attitude towards China’s actions in the South China Sea. Banned all official contact with the Morrison government.
After Australia demanded an independent investigation into the origin of the CCP virus, tensions further increased, prompting a politically motivated trade war in Beijing in retaliation and destroying several export industries, including wine.
In addition, Foreign Minister Marie’s Payne has abandoned Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative with Victoria because it is inconsistent with national interests.
However, after Albanese held its first press conference on Monday, proclaiming that relations with China remain difficult, the settlement from Beijing may not be able to respond to changes from the new Commonwealth Labor administration.
“Before the election, I said it hasn’t changed. It’s China, not Australia that has changed. Australia must always support our values and will be my government,” he said. Said.
“What I do as Prime Minister, and what Foreign Minister Wong does, is to put Australia’s national interests first and Australia’s values first.”
Foreign Minister Penny Wong had previously accused the Morrison administration of “promoting anxiety” about possible conflicts with China, saying the CCP had focused on “survival.”
“With some lessons learned from the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Chinese Communist Party under the Xi Jinping administration has clearly warned of the threat posed by the free and democratic values of China’s stability and thus its survival,” Wong said. Said in 2021.
During the campaign, Beijing’s preference for the Labor Party’s victory was revealed when its mouthpiece, Global Times, published an editorial in support of Albanese’s victory.
Retired Australian diplomat Bruce Haigh said he was “shining positively” compared to Albanese’s retiring Prime Minister Scott Morrison, arguing that Morrison is keeping the country away from stable diplomatic relations with Beijing. bottom.
Following the Labor victory, Global Times called the Labor victory a “turning point” in Australia-China relations and hoped that the new government would put bilateral relations back on the “right track.”
Meanwhile, Albanese met with QUAD leaders in Tokyo to discuss cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region. In particular, it focuses on China, which countries consider to be a longer-term challenge than Russia.
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Rebecca Zhu is based in Sydney. She focuses on Australian and New Zealand national affairs. Do you have a hint? Contact her at [email protected]