Australian  Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with US President Joe Biden in Washington on Wednesday before visiting China. The outside world is paying attention to what impact this will have on the trilateral relations between the United States, China and Australia. When Albanese met with Biden, what did the leaders of the two countries focus on?

On October 22, Australian Prime Minister Albanese arrived in Washington and held a bilateral meeting with US President Biden on the 25th. During the talks, the leaders of the two countries discussed possible cooperation on biotechnology, high-end batteries, quantum computer computing, cybersecurity, space, artificial intelligence, climate change and other issues.

On the afternoon of the 25th, Biden stated at a joint press conference that in earlier talks, the leaders of the two countries discussed how to maintain maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region through military cooperation: “The alliance between the United States and Australia is to maintain maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region. As an anchor of global peace and stability, we (the United States and Australia) work with India and Japan in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) to ensure freedom, openness, prosperity, and security in the Indo-Pacific region. Through trilateral security between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States Partnership (AUKUS), we are also investing in our shared security across generations.”

Biden said: “When we negotiated the trilateral security partnership, Xi Jinping asked me if the purpose of the United States was to contain China? I said no, we just want to ensure that the waterways are open, and you cannot arbitrarily change the regulations related to the waterways. , such as what are the international airspace and international waters, which is why we established the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue. Xi Jinping does not like this alliance, but the focus of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue is to maintain stability in the Taiwan Strait, the Indian Ocean, and the Indo-Pacific region as a whole. “

Biden also warned against the dangerous navigation of Chinese coast guard ships in the South China Sea at the press conference: “In the past week, Chinese ships have sailed dangerously and illegally in the South China Sea with the intention of interfering with the Philippines’ routine replenishment within its exclusive economic zone. Action. I want to make it clear that the United States’ defense commitment to the Philippines is unbreakable and that any attack on Philippine aircraft, ships, or troops will trigger the U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty.”

Scholar: U.S. and Australian leaders are committed to eliminating the threat of China in the scarce metals supply chain

Regarding the meeting between Biden and Albanese, Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) analyst Bronte Munro told our reporter that the leaders of the two countries should have focused on maintaining the supply chain of scarce metals: “Building resilient and competitive supply chains, freeing them from coercion, and proposing an alternative to China’s market monopoly is a daunting challenge that will require the cooperation and cooperation of leaders at the highest levels of government. Talks. The United States cannot do without Australia on this matter, but Australia needs more capital and foreign investment to be able to mine critical minerals.”

Greg Brown, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, also said that Biden and Albanese should have exchanged views on the specific promotion of the trilateral security partnership: “Privately, I think the two leaders shared raised concerns about the rapid deterioration of global security, but the two sides also specified what help they each needed. Australia is currently frustrated by the slow speed of technology transfer in the trilateral security partnership. Under the trilateral security partnership, the two countries are working together To build submarines, the United States and Australia both hope that each other will provide assistance in manpower and infrastructure problems encountered. At the same time, both leaders hope that the United States will include Australia in the list of suppliers of critical minerals – a move that will allow Australian companies accept U.S. funding, but the decision requires approval by the U.S. Congress.”

Albanese accepts China’s invitation to visit China: continued exchanges are in the interests of all countries

Meanwhile, on Sunday, Albanese announced that he would embark on a four-day trip to China on November 4. During this trip, he will visit Shanghai and Beijing and hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. At the joint press conference on the 25th, Albanese also explained his trip to China. He said that there is still a strategic competition between China and Australia.

Albanese said: “My principle is to cooperate where you can, disagree where necessary, and interact with China in the interests of the country. I think continued dialogue is in the interest of Australia, China, and the world.” interests, so I responded to China’s invitation to visit China. … I think it is also a good thing that many high-level US officials have interacted with the Chinese government recently, because dialogue can promote understanding and reduce tensions.”

On the eve of Albanese’s visit to China, the Australian Prime Minister first visited Washington. What does the outside world pay attention to such an itinerary?

In this regard, Brown believed that Albanese visited the United States first because he wanted to reach a consensus with the United States before meeting with Xi Jinping: “Before talking to opponents, it is a wise decision to meet with major allies. Albanese’s visit to Washington is It’s a signal that despite Australia’s reliance on trade with China, the U.S.-Australia alliance still comes first.”

Munro also expressed similar views on this: “Albanese’s visit to the United States publicly demonstrated the importance and commitment of bilateral relations between the United States and Australia. It also demonstrated to Beijing the strategic unity of the United States and Australia in facing China. .The purpose of the Australia-UK-US trilateral security partnership is to deter China’s coercion and aggression in the Indo-Pacific region, which will establish a key framework for Australia’s interactions with Xi Jinping.”

Scholar: China tries to win over Australia to remain neutral in US-China competition

In addition, last Saturday, the Chinese government just announced that it agreed to review the import tariffs imposed on Australian wine. This tariff was implemented in 2020 and severely hit the sales of Australian wine because the then Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison called for an investigation into the origins of the new coronavirus, sparking dissatisfaction with the Beijing authorities and economic retaliation.

It is generally believed that Albanese will visit China in the near future, which shows that China-Australia relations have stopped falling and rebounded in the near future. In addition to the opportunity for the Chinese authorities to cancel wine tariffs, the Chinese government also recently released a man who had been imprisoned for more than three years. Australian journalist Cheng Lei.

In an interview with this station, Yu Maochun, director of the China Center of the Hudson Institute, a think tank in Washington, D.C., believed that China has recently released many goodwill signals to Australia in order to win over Australia to maintain a neutral position in the competition between the United States and China: ” Because Australia is a very important member of the Five Eyes alliance and is very wary of China in terms of international defense, and military exchanges between the United States and Australia are increasing day by day, it wants to provoke a substantive alliance relationship with the United States.”

Yu Maochun analyzed that when Albanese and Xi Jinping meet, the leaders of the two countries should focus on economic topics: “It (the Albanese government) has closer exchanges with countries such as the United States, NATO, and Japan on defense and security affairs. And the AUKUS (Australia-UK-US Trilateral Security Partnership) plan is also proceeding as scheduled. However, Australia also realizes that its dependence on the Chinese market is still relatively critical. The Australian Prime Minister’s visit to China and Xi Jinping may want to talk about stabilizing bilateral relations, especially The goal is to stabilize bilateral economic relations, and the normal trade between Australia and China cannot be affected just because the Australian government has taken some defense actions and deepened relations with the United States.”

Munro also analyzed: “Trade will be the top issue on Albanese’s agenda, and resolving China’s export controls on Australian commodities such as wine, lobster and beef, and restoring barley trade will be his focus.”