It seems that no Chinese do things. Chengdu City in southwestern China has a history of continuous occupations dating back to 2000 years.
But by this metropolis of 21 million people, you are lucky to see a building that has been around for more than 30 years. It looks and feels prosperous.
Chengdu is part of the amazing economic and social transformation that has taken place in China over the past four decades, and it seems to be just accelerating.
They are building a brand new suburban city in the suburbs of Chengdu called the “Big City” which will accommodate 80,000 people by just 1.3 kilometers of land by 2040.
15% of the land will be used for parks and landscaped spaces. The idea is that you will only be 15 minutes’ walk from the city center, so no car is needed. It is estimated that New York City will use 48% less energy and 58% less water compared to cities with the same population, reduce landfill waste by 89% and reduce carbon dioxide by 60%.
The city is fascinating to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who calls himself an “infrastructure nerd”.
“It’s about stabilizing the relationship,” Anthony Albanese said of the visit. ((China Daily Reuters)
The pressure in the United States
At the final press conference of his six-day Chinese visit, Albanes told reporters that he hopes they will go back and tell Australians that even outside of Beijing and Shanghai, his mission is to re-emphasize the importance of Australia’s economic relations with China, rather than focusing only on the strategic threat of rising superpowers.
Abroad, when you are in China, you are studying the future, even if the United States seems determined to lower itself to the past.
British commentator Ambrose Evans-Pritchard recently wrote in London’s Telegraph:
“China’s leaders must wonder if they’re hallucinating, or if the American political class has really lost their minds, taking on economic and geopolitical self-harm on a breathtaking scale. Donald Trump’s “Big Beauty” marks a wholesale retreat of advanced manufacturing and energy technologies. It’s in the Central Front of the China Royal Super Race, without fighting.”
At least for Australia, the way the United States carries itself in its strategic space also has some meaning.
Among the largest strategic partners in the United States, this is seen as a rather blatant attempt to undermine Albanes’ visit to our largest economic partner, a story appeared in the Financial Times last weekend, reporting that U.S. Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby’s defense secretary has been pushing Australia and Japan privately to push Australia and Japan to support the former U.S. agency in support of future conflicts in Thailand.
It was a push encountered by the official Australian circle and was polite but completely refused with the Prime Minister.
When asked if the U.S. thrust was a bit self-righteous, the Prime Minister “of course, we are a sovereign state.”
“The American League is our most important alliance. It remains our most important alliance. It is our critical relationship with our defense and security. But that doesn’t eliminate Australia’s need to have the last say in our own defense and security relationship.”
Abroad, when you are in China, you are studying the future, even if the United States seems determined to lower itself to the past. ((AAP: Lukas Coch)
“Strategic Ambiguity” Policy
The pressure comes from a country that has long been “strategic ambiguity” about Taiwan: that is, how will it react if China chooses to force Taiwan to contain it.
The Prime Minister told ABC that the U.S. had a strategic ambiguity policy on these issues.
“This is shared in Australia. We don’t want to see any changes in the status quo.
“We have supported China’s policy, and the United States is part of the recognition of the United States, in our case, what happened under Gough Whitlam.”
There are also many questions among analysts about the broad US commitment to the Asia-Pacific region, not to mention whether it will eventually be committed to a full-scale war against Taiwan.
Barack Obama’s “hub” to the region never really took off. For Trump, the region has never had a real priority. Joe Biden talked about this, but not much happened.
Of course, except for Australia’s position as the physical basis of the U.S. military continues to grow: from B52 bombers and troops in northern Australia to U.S. nuclear submarines in Perth.
So, is the Prime Minister confident that the United States is committed to the region?
He said, “Well, I believe it’s in America’s interest.”
“Of course, they have an important presence in the Pacific countries there, and their naval presence in Hawaii was attended by Australia in Hawaii with our allies, where I visited the center and interacted with the Pacific leaders there. I think the United States will continue to be involved.
For Donald Trump, the region has never had a real priority.
((Reuters: Jonathan Ernst)
“Our most important allies”
But has Trump’s recent actions raised questions about the reliability of the United States as an ally? These actions include everything from unilateral bombing of Iran to imposing strong tariffs on allies.
“We continue to support our relationship with the United States,” he said.
“This is our most important ally and we continue to build constructive relationships with the United States.”
Trump’s war on the world is mainly focused on trade wars, not shooting wars.
The prime minister has been criticized by the opposition for failing to meet with Trump.
“I noticed the tariffs, no country is better than Australia,” Albanes said.
“I and other members of the administration also interact constructively with members of the Trump administration.
“In the discussion I had with him, they were constructive and certainly had no negative impact around Aukus.
“When I visited the United States for a state visit (during President Biden) and met with many members of Congress and the Senate, the support for the Australian arrangement was overwhelmingly supported.”
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Aukus’s problem
Australians really don’t have much chance to see the debate about Aukus because it was signed soon and both sides of the politics agreed.
However, the question of commitment to participate in the U.S. military operation may have been raised after Colby’s comments.
The Prime Minister told ABC: “Well, Australia’s sovereign state and the government of the day made a decision on behalf of the Australian government, and of course I can’t imagine a situation where the Australian government will give up this sovereignty.”
“Now I’ve noticed that most leagues have said the truth in recent days.
The Prime Minister continues to insist that the core nuclear submarines of Australia’s plan are crucial to our defense strategy.
“What we do is invest in our capabilities, but also in our relationships,” he said.
“When it comes to our capabilities, Australia’s acquisition of nuclear submarines has many advantages over other military equipment.
“The fact that nuclear-powered submarines can continue to be submerged for longer, it can develop further, it is quieter, it is less detectable, which means it is an investment my government agreed to in the former government, which is in Australia’s national interest.”
As for his visit to China. People often wonder what major benefits such a trip would bring (opposition leader Sussan Ley raised the question Thursday).
But Albanes said the importance lies in relationships rather than transactions.
“It’s about stabilizing the relationship,” he said.
“This is a bad thing before the 2022 election. Since then, we’ve seen more than $20 billion in trade barriers and now we’re exporting a lot and in some cases, we’re more than before.”
Barley is integrated into China and our other agricultural exports as well as our resources exports.
“One of the really important meetings we’re holding here is steel decarbonization. Iron ore represents our greatest export value to date, and for the most part it has come to China.”
“China produces over 50% of the world’s steel. If we are to address the reductions needed by the planet, then steel decarbonization must be part of it, combining green metals, and green steel production is very important to keep the world forward and in line with our national economic interests.”
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Walking in Albanys
However, none of this can escape the many uneasiness about China’s aggressive military accumulation in the region, and over the past week, PM has to walk between economic and strategic interests.
When asked about real wire action, he said: “You just have to be clear and consistent.”
“We have different political systems. We have different values, but we shouldn’t let our differences define us.
“We should acknowledge what they are, be prepared to interact with them, and interact with them constructively.
“Three phrases I have been using and using since I was the leader of the opposition labor force is, where should we cooperate, where we disagree where we have to, and in some areas we will continue to disagree, but be involved in our national interests.”
The emergence of Chinese military ships off Australia’s east coast and their on-site shooting exercises caused a lot of shock, but the Prime Minister pointed out that we cannot formulate a policy for us and there is no policy for China.
“In terms of military exercises, of course in international waters, Australia regularly participates in exercises including around the South China Sea,” he said.
That is, at the doorstep of China’s home.
“So we should not be surprised. What we should do is seek greater clarification, greater notice to ensure that no harm occurs there. As I said, we do admit that this is within the scope of international law.”
Like the construction projects in Chengdu, there seems to be no big deal on China’s strategic issues.
President Xi Jinping has an implicit acknowledgement this week that China must also change its approach to interaction with Australia – an approach that has become particularly positive in the age of so-called wolf warriors.
Now, this Albanian visit proves China’s attempt to portray itself as a textbook case of stable and calm adults in a global room.
Although Donald Trump focuses on the Middle East, Ukraine and NATO, it will turn directly to China when visiting here for several months.
Australia can only watch who surpasses who in that meeting on the outside.
Laura Tingle is the global affairs editor for ABC.
