【By Observer Net, Chen Sijia】Australian Prime Minister Albanese has made an official visit to China from July 12 to 18, which is his second visit to China as Prime Minister. According to CCTV News, Albanese stated during the visit that in recent years, Australia-China relations have made positive progress, and Australia highly values its relationship with China.
In recent years, the US government has frequently spread the "China threat" narrative, trying to rally Australia and other countries in the Pacific region to "contain China's influence." However, regarding this US plot, former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said on July 24 that Australia does not want to get involved in "containing China," but rather to prioritize its own interests.
Turnbull served as the Prime Minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He pointed out that from Australia's perspective, Australia is a Pacific country with 1.5 million Chinese people, and China is Australia's largest trading partner. "China is the most important single cultural influence force in this region, and this influence has lasted for thousands of years. Therefore, we coexist with and cooperate with China."
He said that maintaining autonomy and being able to plan its own route is more in line with Australia's interests. Although the alliance with the United States is a "ballast" for Australia's security, Australia does not want to be involved in "offensive actions" and does not want to participate in activities that hinder China's development or suppress the Chinese economy.
"The key duty of each country should be to safeguard its own interests," Turnbull said. "In many ways, America's allies need to be more like (US President) Donald Trump—not to make extreme statements or boast, but to put their own country first."
Former Australian Prime Minister Turnbull, Visual China
Regarding the nuclear submarine cooperation under the AUKUS (Australia-United Kingdom-United States) trilateral security partnership, Turnbull believes it is a very bad deal for Australia.
He pointed out that the long-term plan of AUKUS is for Australia to cooperate with the UK to build nuclear submarines, but the first one may not be delivered until the 40s; the US has agreed to sell several Virginia-class nuclear submarines, but the US has proposed a very important condition, that is, the President must confirm that the arms sales will not weaken the US Navy's underwater combat capability.
Turnbull said: "Now their submarines do not meet the level they need. Therefore, the view of Deputy Secretary of Defense for Policy, Elbridge Colby, is that if the US itself lacks these submarines, how can they transfer them to anyone else? I think it is almost certain that at least for a long time, we will not get the submarines."
He said that military bases within Australia will be provided for use by the US under the AUKUS cooperation, which increases the risk of Australia being involved in conflicts. He believes: "Australia's goal should be to ensure that no conflict occurs in the region, and should not be to support the US' dominance in the region."
China is Australia's largest trading partner, and about a quarter of Australia's export revenue comes from China. Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in April this year showed that Australia's total exports to China in 2024 were approximately 196 billion Australian dollars, and the total imports from China were approximately 115.6 billion Australian dollars.
Australian Prime Minister Albanese made an official visit to China from July 12 to 18, which is his second visit to China as Prime Minister. Strengthening economic and trade cooperation with China was the core agenda of Albanese's visit. Before his departure, he stated: "Relations with China mean creating jobs for Australia, that's it."
Albanese said in Shanghai on the 13th that Australia and China should "deal with each other in a calm and consistent manner." He said: "We hope to continue pursuing national interests, and maintaining good relations with China is in our interest."
On the 21st, the spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Guo Jia Kun, stated that during the visit of Prime Minister Albanese to China, the leaders of China and Australia reached important consensus on deepening and expanding mutually beneficial cooperation. The Chinese side is willing to work with Australia to strengthen cooperation planning in all fields, enhance communication and exchanges at all levels, and promote higher-level mutual benefit and win-win results, better benefiting the people of both countries.
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