Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (
Resource-rich Australia has been eager to boost its ties with energy-hungry China's expanding economy, and the two countries will further cement their relationship when Wen arrives in Australia today for a three-day visit.
But Canberra's willingness to embrace Beijing has highlighted a divergence with a wary US, which has questioned China's military and economic ambitions and chosen to pursue a nuclear energy deal with India.
"Australia's trying to tread a tightrope between our various trading interests and our strategic alliances," Monash University political analyst Dennis Woodward said.
Australia has long battled to balance a strong alliance with the US with its geographical location in Asia, home to its two largest trading partners, Japan and China. Canberra and Beijing are also negotiating a free trade agreement.
A US deal with India this month -- under which New Delhi will separate its military and civil nuclear facilities, and open civilian plants to inspections in return for US nuclear fuel and technology -- is seen by some analysts as a US bid to build India as a regional counterweight to China.
"We particularly appreciate Australia's view that China's development presents an opportunity, not a threat," Wen told the Australian newspaper in remarks preceding his trip, which some analysts have interpreted as a veiled swipe at the US.
Wen said he had "closely followed" recent security talks between Australia, Japan and the US, during which US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice voiced concern about China potentially becoming a "negative force" in the Asia region.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard has said that he is not "starry eyed" about Wen's visit, and that while Canberra and Beijing enjoy ties envied by other world leaders, the two countries still have differences.
The highest profile trade issue will be China's desire to buy Australian uranium so it can rapidly expand its nuclear power generation capabilities and lessen reliance on polluting fossil fuels. Canberra only allows uranium sales to members of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty once they agree on a separate bilateral safeguards deal.
A supplementary agreement is also expected to be signed allowing Chinese companies to directly explore and mine uranium in Australia, although Howard said such arrangements would be subject to regular foreign investment controls.
Wen said in the Australian interview that he would propose regular leadership meetings between Australian and Chinese officials in order to maintain a smooth bilateral relationship. Only the US currently has such an arrangement with Beijing.
also see story:
Editorial: Wen Jiabao takes the yellowcake
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique