Australia’s new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has urged China to lift trade sanctions on Australian goods to improve bilateral relations, which have hit the lowest level since 2020.
“It was China that imposed sanctions on Australia”Albanese emphasized, on the sidelines of a summit of the Quad bloc, which brings together the United States, India, Japan and Australia, an informal security association that aims to combat Chinese influence in the Asia-Pacific region.
“There is no justification for doing this and that is why they need to be removed,” Albanese told reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Relations between Beijing and Canberra have cooled after Australia requested an independent investigation into the origins of the pandemic and excluded the Chinese technology group Huawei from the development of its 5G (fifth generation) telecommunications network.
China, Australia’s biggest trading partner, retaliated by imposing punitive customs duties on a dozen Australian products, including coal, wine and barley.
“We certainly would like to see these sanctions and tariffs lifted,” said the new Australian Treasury official, Jim Chalmers.
“are hurt our economy. They are making life difficult for some of our employers and workers here in Australia and obviously we would like to see these measures lifted,” Chalmers said today.
On Tuesday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang had sent a congratulatory message to the Albanian, after months without official contact between the two countries.
China congratulates new Australian PM after months without official contact
“The Chinese side is ready to work with the Australian side, stop looking back and look to the future… to promote the healthy and stable growth of their comprehensive strategic partnership,” Li was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency. .
Australia has raised concerns about Beijing’s growing influence in the region, particularly after a recent security pact signed between China and the Solomon Islands.
The agreement includes a section that would authorize the Chinese navy to station itself on these islands, located less than 2,000 kilometers from Australia.
China’s Foreign Ministry confirmed Tuesday that Wang Yi will land in the Solomon Islands on Thursday, as part of a visit to several countries in the region, including Fiji and Timor-Leste.
On Wednesday, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern warned against “militarizing” the Pacific, in response to Wang Yi’s visit to the region.
“There is some tension in our region. We have been feeling an escalation in language for some time. New Zealand asks for peace and stability,” Ardern told the New Zealand press, on the first day of an official visit to the United States, where she is due to meet with US President Joe Biden.
Australia’s new foreign minister, Penny Wong, will travel to Fiji on Thursday to combat Chinese influence in the South Pacific, the Australian newspaper reported.
Source: Observadora
