Thaw or cold war: will Labor succeed in unfreezing Australia-China relations?
The new government has struck a different tone with Beijing but the same difficult problems – from trade to the Indo-Pacific – remain
After the end of a two-year diplomatic freeze between China and Australia, the new Albanese government is embarking on a grand experiment: is a different tone enough to get the relationship on a better footing?
Gone are Peter Dutton’s blunt declarations that Beijing wants to turn countries like Australia into tributary states, as is the prediction Australia would almost certainly join any US-led military action to defend Taiwan against invasion.