Albanese rules out meeting China’s “demands” to revive relations

July 11 () –

The Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, has announced this Monday that he will not comply with the “demands” proposed by China to improve relations between the two countries, although he has clarified that the objective is to build “good relations” as long as they do not contravene the interests from Australia.

“We will cooperate with China as far as we can. I want to build good relations with all countries. But we will defend Australia’s interests when necessary,” Albanese assured at a press conference held on Monday, reports the Bloomberg agency.

When asked about the four “actions” proposed by the Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, to improve relations between Canberra and Beijing, Albanese has settled that he will not respond to said “demands”.

China has called on Australia to act as a “partner rather than a rival”, to “reserve” their differences while deepening their relations, and above all not to be controlled “by a third party”. Demands proposed by Wang to his Australian counterpart, Penny Wong, last Friday when they met.

For his part, the spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wang Wenbin, has preferred not to refer to these latest statements by Albanese and has limited himself to pointing out the importance of “working with China in the same direction”.

“We hope that Australia can take the opportunity to change its perception and form a correct one towards China”, as well as work “in the same direction, accumulate positive energy and reduce negative dimensions”, said the spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Since Albanese won the elections in May, both countries seem more willing to bring together positions that had grown apart during the previous conservative government of Scott Morrison, whom China has blamed for this deterioration.

After the Morrison government slipped China’s responsibility for the coronavirus pandemic by calling for an international investigation into the matter, Beijing reacted by imposing tariffs on some of the exports from what has always been one of its main economic partners.

Last month, the heads of Foreign Affairs and Defense of both countries met in a new attempt to reconcile positions. However, Canberra insists that any gesture must be accompanied by the lifting of these economic sanctions, which, at the moment, Beijing does not contemplate.