
Xi Jinping has told Anthony Albanese that geopolitical turbulence and Donald Trump’s growing trade war should not derail newfound stability between China and Australia, saying the two countries should “unswervingly” stick to cooperation.
The prime minister met China’s president for the second time in Beijing on Tuesday, promising to find common ground despite differences on sensitive issues such as the ownership of the Port of Darwin and US pressure over the future of Taiwan.
Ahead of the talks, security guards tried to stop Australian journalists covering Albanese’s six-day visit from leaving a popular Beijing tourist destination, prompting the prime minister to tell reporters: “China has a different system obviously with the media.”
Speaking at the start of their talks in the Great Hall of the People, Xi told Albanese common understanding and cooperation should continue, despite global instability.
“No matter how the international landscape may evolve, we should uphold this overall direction unswervingly,” he said, speaking through an interpreter.
Beijing and Canberra have both talked up a soothing of tensions between the two countries. From May 2020 China imposed $20bn in trade sanctions on Australia following a long list of grievances, including foreign investment controls, national security settings and the Morrison government’s push for an investigation into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Albanese matched Xi’s calls for calmer relations.
“I note your comments in your opening remarks about seeking common ground while sharing differences,” he said.
“That approach has indeed produced very positive benefits for both Australia and for China.”
Speaking after the meeting, Albanese said the Port of Darwin’s ownership was not raised. Labor and the Coalition both pledged during this year’s election campaign to take back ownership from a Chinese-linked company, even using taxpayer funds if necessary. China has objected to the plans.
Albanese said he raised the case of the Chinese-Australian academic Yang Hengjun, but that he did not expect an immediate end to his detention after a suspended death sentence ruling in February 2024.
“President Xi Jinping and I agreed dialogue must be at the centre of our relationship,” Albanese said.
“If you don’t have communication, you can have misadventure and misinterpretation.”
He promised “patient, calibrated advocacy” by the government on a range of sensitive issues.
The Trump administration has been pushing Labor to make clear if Australia would commit troops to a conflict with China over the fate of Taiwan, something Labor is unwilling to do. Albanese said Australia supported “the status quo” in Taiwan.
Coalition senator James Paterson noted on Tuesday that the US had not declared whether it would come to Taiwan’s aid in the event of an invasion, and Australia should not have to either.
“It’s had that policy consistently since 1979 – when the Taiwan Relations Act passed Congress – so it wouldn’t be appropriate for the US government to ask Australia to do more than the United States is willing to do in relation to that,” he told ABC radio.
Albanese said he raised the live fire exercise by the Chinese navy off the New South Wales coast earlier this year with Xi, who noted that Australia engages in military exercises too.
“I said what I said at the time: it was within international law, there was no breach of international law by China, but that we were concerned about the notice and the ways that it happened, including the live fire exercises,” Albanese said.
The prime minister later met China’s premier, Li Qiang, who said relations between the two countries had “moved beyond a low point and returned to the right track of stability and development,”.
Since the pair last met in October last year “a lot has happened in the world”, Li said, and there was growing instability and uncertainty in the global economy.
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“The development of all countries is faced with new challenges. Given such circumstances, China and Australia as important trade partners, should strengthen dialogue and co-operation,” he said.
Earlier, security crews approached journalists and Australian embassy staff at the capital’s historic Drum and Bell Towers area. Journalists from the ABC, SBS, Nine, Seven and Sky News were filming at the site, accompanied by Australian diplomatic escorts.
They had written permission from local authorities to film in the public area.
Journalists on the ground reported being approached by as many as eight security officers, who asked about their authorisation and told them to wait for police. The men later demanded camera crews hand over their footage.
Australian diplomats spoke to the security guards, who followed journalists to their bus. They were initially told not to leave the area but were allowed to depart without incident.
The ABC’s foreign affairs reporter Stephen Dziedzic said the journalists were recording pieces to camera for Australian news bulletins when they were interrupted by security guards.
He said it was not a dramatic encounter and no one felt physically threatened.
“An Australian official posted to the Beijing embassy pushed back forcefully, insisting that we had every right to be there. When it looked like one of the guards might block one of the camera operators, she intervened immediately, telling them to step back. It was deftly done.”
China strictly controls media reporting, censors its own citizens, including on social media, and closely monitors foreigners visiting the country.
Asked about the incident, Albanese said he respected the media and wanted to answer questions.
“China has a different system obviously with the media, but certainly I am here, being accountable, I came straight here, and I’m going straight back,” he said.
Earlier the opposition leader, Sussan Ley, said China had disrespected Australia by conducting live fire military exercises, forcing commercial planes to change their routes.
She called on Albanese to object to China’s push to grow its reach across Indo-Pacific nations.
“The prime minister should speak frankly about the increasing influence that China has in the region, and speak about the importance to Australia of the US relationship,” she said.