Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong arrived in the Chinese capital on Tuesday night for a landmark visit that points to a thaw in the icy relations between the two Pacific powers. In fact, she’s the first Australian FM to travel to Beijing since ties began to deteriorate more than three years ago.
Wong is going to meet her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, on Wednesday and it’s widely believed that trade issues are going to be her top priority in those talks. Specifically, the Australians want the Chinese to lift $20 billion of what are effectively economic sanctions against their products, including coal, wine, wheat, and seafood among many other exports.
China began to impose restrictions on Australian imports when the previous government in Canberra called for an investigation into the origins of COVID-19, sent warships to the South China Sea and imposed restrictions on the use of Huawei 5G equipment.
In turn, China retaliated with economic countermeasures that, by and large, have not had a meaningful impact on the broader Australian economy. As part of that effort, China sought to replace Australian goods by sourcing them from countries in Africa, Asia, and elsewhere.
South Africa, for example, benefitted greatly from expanded coal and wine sales, while the huge Simandou mine in Guinea was positioned as a way to reduce China’s dependence on Australian iron ore.
Brazil, too, was another major beneficiary of the Sino-Aussie trade spat and may see a reduction in mineral and food sales to China if Wong is successful in her effort to get the sanctions removed.
Asia-Pacific Countries Stand to Benefit Most From Détente Between China & Australia
- GREAT POWER COMPETITION: Australia could be a moderating force within the U.S.-led Quad security initiative in Asia, given China’s rapidly deteriorating ties with the group’s other members that include India, Japan and the United States.
- THE SOUTH PACIFIC: Small, ecologically vulnerable Pacific Island Countries (PICs) are caught in the middle of an increasingly contentious competition for influence among China, Australia, New Zealand and the U.S. Any dialing down of tensions between Beijing and Canberra could pave the way for a more constructive dialogue among the major powers with PICs.
Wong is also expected to lobby for the release of two naturalized Australian citizens, journalist Cheng Lei and author Yang Hengjun.
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