Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has dismissed concerns that his government’s bid to end Chinese ownership of the Port of Darwin could bring blowback from Beijing, as he prepares for a face-to-face meeting with China President Xi Jinping today.
Albanese will meet the Chinese leader as part of his week-long official visit to the country, during which he has focused largely on tourism and trade and touted his success at re-establishing stable relationships.
But the prime minister’s election commitment to overturn the 99-year lease of the Port of Darwin to Chinese firm Landbridge, which has already sparked consternation in China, could become a sore point, along with other issues such as Australia’s stance on Taiwan and Chinese live-fire exercises off the Australian coast.
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Albanese yesterday said he did not expect any blowback from the issue.
“We had a very clear position that we want the port to go into Australian ownership,” he said.
“We’ve been clear about it, we’ve been orderly about it, and we will go through that process.”
International affairs expert Professor James Curran also said the idea China might resort to economic coercion on key Australian exports, including iron ore, was “laughable”.
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“I really don’t think the Chinese will take that step. We know what China’s economic coercion looks like in this country. Unfortunately, it did backfire on China,” he told Today.
“They hit us on on six key export industries under the Morrison government. Now all of those are off at the moment.
“I would have thought that the Chinese do not want to get back into that kind of punitive trade behaviour at this particular time.”
Curran queried the government’s motivation over the issue, saying two previous reviews had concluded there was no serious strategic concern over the Landbridge lease.
“The sensitivity is twofold. It’s about Australia keeping critical infrastructure in Australian hands,” he said.
“But I think it’s also more about how close this port is to the US Marines that are rotating through Darwin each year.”
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