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go through Kirsty Needham and Lucy KramerReuters
Chinese Premier Li Qiang waves as he arrives at Seoul Air Force Base in Seongnam, May 26, 2024.
photo: AFP/Anthony Wallace
Regional security concerns will overshadow lucrative trade ties when Chinese Premier Li Qiang visits New Zealand and Australia this week, with the tone markedly different from the last trip by a Chinese premier seven years ago.
plum Arrived in New Zealand on ThursdayChina’s Foreign Ministry said Xi Jinping would travel to Australia at the weekend.
Australia is the largest supplier of iron ore to its largest trading partner China, but there is competition among Western security allies for rare earths needed for Australia’s electric vehicles and defence.
New Zealand was the first Western country to reach a free trade agreement with China, and in 2008 China remained its The largest export market for milk and agricultural products, with two-way trade valued at nearly NZ$38 billion.
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said Li Keqiang’s visit is Opportunities for businesses to strike dealsand “has extensive areas of cooperation with China, especially in trade, energy and climate change.”
He said the two sides would also discuss their differences.
New Zealand once had a soft stance on China, but this year it has hardened its stance Condemning Beijing’s hacking of parliament And noted the growing threat posed by China to Pacific security.
“Since 2017, the relationship has shifted from being primarily focused on opportunity to also focusing on resilience and overdependence,” said Jason Young, director of the New Zealand Centre for Contemporary China Studies at Victoria University.
Chinese Ambassador Wang Xiaolong last month Speech at the Auckland China Business Summit Beijing posed no threat and warned against “baseless accusations that erode the precious trust we have built”.
Panda diplomacy
Chinese Premier Li Qiang (left) and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese shake hands at the opening ceremony of the 6th China International Import Expo in Shanghai, November 5, 2023.
photo: AFP/Hector Retamar
In Australia, Li Keqiang first visited the city of Adelaide, where a pair of giant pandas are about to return to China, but locals expect their stay to be extended or that replacement pandas will be sent.
Panda diplomacy, and lunch with wine exporters Excluded from the Chinese marketwill settle a political dispute. Beijing suspended A$20 billion (NZ$21.5 billion) worth of Australian agricultural and mineral exports between 2020 and last year.
A poll released Wednesday by Sydney’s Australia-China Relations Institute showed the trade ban has led to deep public distrust: 74% say Australia is too dependent on China economically, and 71% view Beijing as a security threat.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Li’s visit showed relations between the two countries had stabilized despite tensions over their defense capabilities as they compete for influence in the Pacific.
Richard McGregor, a senior fellow for East Asia at the Lowy Institute, said Australia and China would be “more realistic about what they have in common” in Canberra.
“China still views Australia as a reliable supplier of commodities and they are particularly keen to block any efforts to restrict its access to critical minerals such as rare earths and lithium,” he said.
He said while China was Australia’s largest customer and early investor in mining, the United States, Japan and Europe were catching up and now wanted Canberra to restrict Chinese investment.
“But how do you cut off ties with your biggest customer? Can friends in Australia make up for the loss of income and investment?”
In Western Australia, Li is expected to visit the processing plants of China’s Tianqi Lithium and Australian mining and energy company Fortescue.
Published in The Australian On Wednesday, Albanese stressed the importance of trade with China and his government’s efforts to cater to global Demand for critical minerals Adhering to the “Made in Australia” policy.
“As more countries make the explicit link between economic security and national security, we will ensure Australia’s foreign investment framework is more efficient, transparent and more effective in managing risks,” he wrote.
Businessman Warwick Smith, who will attend a roundtable of business leaders in Western Australia with Mr Li and Mr Albanese, said China was likely to point to Australia’s scrutiny of foreign investment, particularly in rare earths, as an issue it wanted to work on with Australia.
Australia China Industry and Trade Council chairman David Olsson said the council expected China to lift its remaining trade ban on seafood and also hoped visa restrictions would be relaxed.
“Australian businessmen do need to reconnect with China and renew the relationship,” he said.
– Reuters
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