Xi's global agenda will restrain improvement in Australian ties

Albanese has changed Canberra's diplomatic tone, not its policy stance

Richard Maude and Genevieve Donnellon-May

October 30, 2023 17:00 JST

While Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's government has ducked some battles with China, it has not conceded to Beijing on any top-tier national interest. (AAP Image via Reuters)

Richard Maude, a former Australian diplomat, is a senior fellow with the Asia Society Policy Institute and executive director for policy at Asia Society Australia. Genevieve Donnellon-May is a research associate with the institute.

It says something about the hostile depths to which relations between Australia and China have sunk in recent years that no Australian prime minister has visited the country's most important trading partner since 2016.