Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s diplomatic juggling skills have been on show as he stood aside a Socceroos legend in Shanghai.
Attempts to lure Chinese tourists to Australia and promote the nations’ people-to-people links were overshadowed by questions about Australia’s participation in a potential future conflict with the Asian superpower as Albanese began his China trip on Sunday.
US defence official Elbridge Colby, who is leading a review into the AUKUS security pact, has been pushing allies such as Australia to clarify the roles they would play in a possible war.
That made for an awkward proposition for Albanese on Sunday, the first full day of his six-day tour of China.
As China’s ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian watched on in stony silence, Albanese played a straight bat to questions, reiterating Australia’s commitment to the status quo in Taiwan while maintaining support for the US-Australia alliance.
“It’s important that we have a consistent position, which Australia has had for a long period of time,” he said at the headquarters of online booking giant Trip.com.
“Our aim of investing in our capability, and as well, investing in our relationships, is about advancing peace and security in our region.”
Albanese oversaw the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Trip.com and Tourism Australia, and previewed an ad campaign to air in China starring local film star Yu Shi and Ruby the Roo, an animated kangaroo voiced by Rose Byrne.
China’s burgeoning middle class, armed with deep pockets and an appetite for travel, is key to Australia’s tourism industry, spending $9.2 billion in the 12 months to March.
While China remains Australia’s second-largest visiting tourist market, numbers have yet to recover to pre-pandemic levels.
China’s dramatic economic transformation in recent decades was plain to see from Shanghai’s historic Bund promenade, where Albanese strolled with ex-Socceroo Kevin Muscat, who manages Chinese Super League outfit Shanghai Port FC.
Shanghai’s rainy season clouds parted early for the pair on Sunday morning, making way for a suffocating tropical heat that beat down on their discussion of the impact of football in fostering the two countries’ interpersonal connections.
Looking across the Huangpu River, a forest of newly-built skyscrapers in the Pudong district — surely constructed with no small quantity of Australian iron ore — gleamed in the sunlight.
“When I first came here twice in the 1990s, the area Pudong was very different indeed,” Albanese said in a meeting with local Chinese Communist Party official Chen Jining.
“There were farms where there is now a great metropolis.
“The development we can see across the river is symbolic of the extraordinary development that China has seen in recent decades, lifting literally hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and creating economic benefit both for the people of China, but also increased economic engagement with countries like Australia.”
Albanese will continue to emphasise the two nations’ business and sporting links during his visit.
A keen tennis player, he will make an announcement about extending an Australian Open wildcard tournament when he visits the south-west city of Chengdu.
Sport built important people-to-people ties, as did business co-operation, Albanese said.
“One in four of Australian jobs is dependent on our exports and overwhelmingly, by far the largest destination for Australian exports is right here in China,” he said.
-AAP
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