Politics live: Xi hails ‘benefits’ of improving China-Australia relations after meeting Albanese at G20 | Australian politics


Key events

Speaking of Trump, our latest Essential poll has been canvassing opinions about what his re-election might mean for Australia.

It has found that more people think the new Trump administration will be bad news for the global economy (42% said negative, 38% said positive), “resolving global conflicts and promoting peace” (41% to 37%) and America’s influence on global affairs (44% to 37%).

Read the whole story here:

‘Authoritarianism and chaos’

In the lead-up to his return to the White House, president-elect Donald Trump has quickly assembled a new team of loyalists including Elon Musk, a Fox News host and a vaccine sceptic. While his cabinet nominees will still need approval from Congress, the controversial list is already raising alarm bells.

For today’s Full Story podcast, Washington DC bureau chief David Smith speaks to Nour Haydar about what these latest announcements tell us about Trump’s plans for his second term as president.

Spending survey

As mentioned, we have a story this morning about a Commonwealth Bank survey showing that Australians aged between 18 to 29 have cut back on their spending due to the cost-of-living crisis more than older people who are shopping more.

The survey also picked up some geographical differences, with Western Australia “really outperforming” the rest of the country in how much residents had spent.

Here’s the full article:

More on that Xi-Albanese meeting, via AAP:

Albanese, who visited Beijing a year ago, said there had been “further encouraging progress in the stabilisation of our relationship” and that trade was “flowing more freely” between the countries.

China is Australia’s largest trading partner and total two-way trade hit a record $327bn in 2023.

Chinese authorities introduced sanctions – since lifted – on some Australian products in 2020 after the government of then-prime minister Scott Morrison called for an international inquiry into the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We continue to explore opportunities for practical co-operation in areas of shared interest, including on our energy transition and climate change,” Albanese said.

“We live in the fastest growing region of the world in human history – and the rise of China has contributed to this while lifting the living standards of hundreds of millions of people through increased economic activity”.

Chinese-Australian links are improving after a turnaround in relations, Xi Jinping has told Anthony Albanese while acknowledging “some twists and turns” in the past, Australian Associated Press reports.

The prime minister met the Chinese president, in their third formal encounter, on the sidelines of the G20 leaders’ summit in Brazil.

Before the talks between the two started in Rio de Janeiro overnight, Xi recalled visiting Australia in 2014.

Stabilising Australia’s relationship with China is in the interests of both our countries.

Dialogue is critical, and we’ve made encouraging progress.

Trade is flowing more freely. 
⁰And that brings benefits to both countries, and to people and businesses on both sides. 

Our… pic.twitter.com/o5LlmcwGE8

— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) November 18, 2024

“Ten years ago today, I was on a state visit in Australia. And on this very day, during which our two sides agreed to establish a comprehensive strategic partnership,” Xi said.

Xi addressed the parliament in Canberra at the time and was hosted by then-prime minister Tony Abbott .

“And over the past decade, we have made some progress in China-Australia relations and also witnessed some twists and turns. That trajectory has many inspirations to offer,” Xi told Mr Albanese.

“Now, our relations have realised a turnaround and continues to grow, bringing tangible benefits to our two peoples,” he said.

“So, this is the result of our collective hard work in the same direction, and should be maintained with great care.”

Welcome

Martin Farrer

Good morning and welcome to our live politics blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it’ll be Emily Wind with the main action.

Anthony Albanese has met China’s president Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Brazil overnight with Beijing trying to promote Australia as a model for trading with China in a Trump era. Albanese said there had been “encouraging progress in the stabilisation of our relationship”. We’ll have more details coming up soon.

Our latest Guardian Essential poll taken in the wake of Donald Trump’s election win finds that almost half of voters want the Australian government to review Aukus and the acquisition of nuclear submarines. The poll also finds that most of those asked think his presidency will be bad for the global economy and conflict resolution.

It’s a busy day for surveys. Almost half of Australians (49%) believe immigration is too high but the large majority (71%) still think that migrants make the country stronger and that multiculturalism has benefited the nation (85%). These are perhaps contradictory findings from the Scanlon Foundation Research Institute’s annual survey, Mapping Social Cohesion, out today. One of the lead authors said that despite the stresses caused by the Middle East crisis, the findings “speak to the resilience” of Australian society.

The minutes of the Reserve Bank’s last monetary policy meeting will be released this morning and should shed some more light on the thinking behind keeping rates on hold. We’ll be across the news when it breaks at 11.30 but we also have some more context with a study showing that the cost-of-living crisis is affecting young people much more than older cohorts.





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