The Guardian-Albanese arrives in China for landmark visit says its in our national interest
November 4, 2023 3 min 493 words
安东尼·阿尔班斯抵达上海虹桥机场，进行了具有历史意义的三天官方访问。他在中国国家主席习近平和总理李强的陪同下，进行了首次中国访问，这是自2016年以来澳大利亚总理首次访问中国。 阿尔班斯宣称，澳大利亚将在“国家利益”下与中国合作，分歧之处不退让。他认为积极、建设性、尊重和开放的对话是对澳大利亚最大的贸易伙伴中国的国家利益的服务。这次访问旨在重启外交关系，这段时间的外交紧张关系始于澳大利亚2018年决定排除中国公司华为参与5G网络建设，随后澳中关系升级为贸易战。阿尔班斯计划在此次访问中提出人权和领事问题，并呼吁解决杨恒均案。 这一次访问在澳大利亚国内引起争议，因为澳大利亚国内正面临生活成本压力。然而，阿尔班斯强调中国是澳大利亚最大的贸易伙伴，澳大利亚四分之一的就业机会依赖贸易。尽管国内问题紧迫，与中国建立积极关系对澳大利亚的长远利益至关重要。 这次访问是在国际关系紧张局势下进行的一次重要外交努力，为恢复双方的合作和对话关系创造了机会。然而，对于中国和澳大利亚之间的关系重建，还需要持续的努力和双方的诚实合作，以实现共同的利益。
Anthony Albanese has declared Australia will “cooperate with China where we can, disagree where we must, but ... also engage in our national interest” as the prime minister arrived in the People’s Republic for a landmark three day official visit.
Albanese touched down in Shanghai on Saturday evening. After being received at the airport by senior diplomats from both countries, the prime minister went immediately to a banquet hosted by China’s premier Li Qiang to open China’s International Import Expo in downtown Shanghai.
When he returned from the banquet, the prime minister told travelling journalists Australia’s national interest was served by having a positive, constructive, respectful and open dialogue with China, our biggest trading partner.
“That’s what I hope to achieve over the coming days,” the prime minister said.
Albanese has faced some criticism at home for maintaining a hectic schedule of international travel at a time when Australians are battling cost-of-living pressure. The prime minister noted on Saturday night China was Australia’s largest trading partner and Albanese pointed out one in four jobs in Australia was “trade dependent”.
Albanese’s visit to China is the first by an Australian prime minister since 2016. He will meet the Chinese president, Xi Jinping in Beijing on Monday, and the premier on Tuesday.
The visit is intended to reboot the diplomatic relationship after a period of significant turbulence that began with Australia’s decision to exclude Chinese company Huawei from the rollout of the 5G network in 2018. The bilateral rift intensified and spiralled into a trade war after then prime minister Scott Morrison called for an independent investigation into the origins of the pandemic in 2020.
On Sunday, the prime minister will attend the trade expo in Shanghai and meet Australian and Chinese business leaders at a function organised by Tourism Australia before flying to Beijing in the evening.
Albanese has flagged that he intends to raise human rights and consular issues during this visit. On Saturday, before he left Australia, Albanese was asked what he would say to China’s premier and president about the writer, Yang Hengjun, who has been detained for four years.
Albanese said: “I’ll be saying that Dr Yang’s case needs to be resolved. And I’ll be speaking about his human rights, the nature of the detention and the failure to have transparent processes.”
“We will always raise the issues of Australian citizens when we meet with international leaders. That is something that we do consistently, and I will do it again in a way that is aimed at achieving an outcome in the interests of Dr Yang and his family.”