Opinion | Fresh hope, prosperity for Australia-China ties in Year of the Rabbit
- Under the previous government, there was no senior-level political dialogue for more than two years and disputes spilled over to hurt other parts of the bilateral relationship
- But Canberra-Beijing relations will not be completely smooth-sailing going forward, despite the Albanese government’s ‘stabilisation’ objective
After winning last May’s federal election, the new Albanese government set “stabilisation” as the objective for Canberra’s relations with Beijing.
Rather than reaching for something loftier, “stabilisation” made sense given the new Labor government was inheriting a relationship in its worst state since 1972, the year the Whitlam government moved to recognise Beijing (instead of Taipei) as China’s sole legal government.
Under the previous Morrison government, there had been no senior-level political dialogue for more than two years. Disputes between the two governments had spilled over to hurt other parts of the bilateral relationship, like trade and investment.
The Albanese government should feel satisfied the “stabilisation” objective has now been achieved in just nine short months.