Key Points
- Albanese attended the opening banquet of the China International Import Expo on Saturday night.
- He says he is seeking to set up an open dialogue with the Chinese government.
- Beijing imposed trade bans worth $20 billion on Australian products, but that has since been reduced to $2 billion.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has delivered a rebuke of Beijing's economic coercion against Australia while speaking in China.
Addressing the China International Import Expo in Shanghai on Sunday, Albanese said Australia continued to highly value the World Trade Organisation for its role as an "independent" umpire.
He defended the global rules-based trade framework saying the rules provide "certainty and opportunity for redress if problems arise".
"Australia and China have prospered thanks to the certainty and stability that is made possible by rules-based trade."
China imposed punitive trade bans worth $20 billion at the height of a diplomatic spat in 2020.
The sanctions have now been reduced to $2 billion, with a five-month review underway by Beijing on bans on Australian wine exports worth $1.2 billion.
At the trade expo's opening session, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said Beijing would continue to seek access to a multi-nation trade bloc.
Beijing has been seeking to join the 12-nation Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership for some time and wants Australia's backing.
Li said China "will always stand on the right side of history" and would "resolutely oppose" unilateralism and protectionism.
Beijing would "firmly uphold" the authority and effectiveness of the multilateral trading system, he added.
Albanese was also at the opening session of the trade show, which more than 200 Australian companies are attending, and delivered a speech saying Australia's trade in goods and services reached a record high in 2022/23.
He said Australia continued to highly value the World Trade Organisation for its role as an "independent" umpire.
The Chinese premier remained to hear Albanese's speech.
A 'mature and complementary' relationship
Australia has suspended two disputes it took against China to the WTO over Beijing's punitive tariffs on barley and wine.
Albanese described the relationship with China as "mature" and "complementary" by nature.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to ask Albanese for Australia's support for his country's bid to join the partnership when the pair meet in Beijing on Monday.
But the prime minister is expected to reiterate that the bloc has the highest standards for entry, and will need the unanimous support of members to allow new nations in.
China believes its application to join the trans-Pacific trade agreement is crucial to upgrading economic co-operation with Australia.
Albanese arrived in Shanghai on Saturday evening AEDT, becoming the first Australian prime minister to visit Australia's largest trading partner in seven years.
Although the Labor government has made strides in improving the relationship with China over the last 18 months, Trade Minister Don Farrell - who is accompanying the prime minister in China - says the relationship is "not what it was a number of years ago".
Assistant Foreign Affairs Minister Tim Watts said the government's efforts are not about resetting the relationship, but rather stabilising it.
"It's not possible to turn back time. We can't reset the relationship to what it was back in 2016," he said on Sunday.
"What a relationship between Australia and China looks like in that new world is going to mean different things to China and to Australia.
"We need to use all of our Australian tools of statecraft, across defence, across diplomatic capabilities, across our economic capabilities, and co-ordinate and align them in the pursuit of our own interests."
On Saturday night, after a dinner hosted by the Chinese Premier, Albanese reaffirmed the importance of ties with China.
"It is in Australia's interests to have a positive and constructive and open and respectful dialogue with our major trading partner," he said.
"And that's what I hope to achieve over the coming days when I'll be meeting with President Xi, Premier Li and other leaders here in China."
'Save our father's life'
Detained Australian writer , pleading that he help bring their father home.
They said in the letter their father's health had "declined" in Chinese detention.
Yang was arrested in August 2019 on suspicion of espionage and has spent more than four years in a Beijing prison.
In the letter, Yang's two sons urge Albanese to act and use this "narrow window of opportunity" to help secure their father's release.
"We request that you do all in your power to save our father's life and return him immediately to family and freedom in Australia," they wrote.
"We ask that you make clear that it is not possible to stabilise the bilateral relationship with a government that is holding an Australian citizen just a few kilometres south of where you will be hosted."
