Australian PM raises trade 'blockages' with China's Xi
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he raised with Chinese President Xi Jinping concerns about trade “blockages” but did not walk away from their first face-to-face talks with any promises that the $13 billion barriers to Australian exports would be lifted
NUSA DUA, Indonesia (AP) — Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he raised with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday his concerns about trade “blockages,” but did not walk away from their first face-to-face talks with any promises that the $13 billion barriers to Australian exports would be lifted.
Bilateral relations plummeted since then over issues including Australia’s ban on Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei’s involvement in 5G networks, calls for an independent inquiry into the COVID-19 pandemic and new laws banning covert international interference in Australian politics.
Since the center-left Labor Party came to power in May after nine years of conservative rule, Albanese has been calling for China to lift a series of official and unofficial barriers to Australian exports including beef, wine, seafood, wood and coal that cost $13 billion a year.
