- Xi Jinping meets with the leaders of Australia, France and South Korea.
- They meet at the Group of 20 summit in Bali.
- China’s relations with these three US allies have deteriorated in recent years.
After a near three-year exile from the world stage, Chinese leader Xi Jinping has launched on a frenzy of face-to-face encounters with Western leaders at the Group of 20 summit in Bali, as he attempts to restore China’s global dominance.
Following a three-hour meeting on Monday with US President Joe Biden in an attempt to avoid their rivalry from boiling into open confrontation, Xi is talking on Tuesday with the leaders of Australia, France and South Korea.
Due to escalating geopolitical tensions, trade disputes, and the Covid-19 epidemic, China’s relations with these three US allies have deteriorated in recent years.
While hopes of a reset of ties are modest, the meetings could serve to stave off problems and reopen communication lines — in ways similar to the encounter between Xi and Biden.
On Monday, the Chinese leader struck back at a major premise of Biden’s foreign policy — the worldwide conflict between democracy and autocracy, and the willingness of Western countries to approach relations with Beijing through this lens.
Xi termed China’s form of government as “Chinese-style democracy” in a Chinese readout of his conversation with Biden, signaling to US allies that ideological disagreements should not strain relations with Beijing.
In a sign of Xi’s busy itinerary, he and Macron met early on Tuesday before the G20 summit.
The meetings, which lasted for 43 minutes according to Chinese official media, saw Xi restate his support for a ceasefire and peace talks to end the war in Ukraine.
“Xi reiterated China’s position on the Ukraine situation is clear and consistent, demanding a ceasefire, a stop to conflict and peace talks,” a readout of the bilat from Chinese state media CCTV said.
France, like other European countries, views China as a competitor and security issue.
For the bulk of the pandemic Xi kept his diplomatic operations to virtual meetings and video conferences, choosing to stay within China, rather than travel overseas.
But the most anticipated in-person diplomacy by Xi on Tuesday is arguably his meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, mainly because ties between Beijing and Canberra have soured substantially over the last years.
China levied tariffs on Australia in early 2020 after it called for a probe into the coronavirus’ origins.
Leaders of the two countries last met when Albanese’s predecessor, Scott Morrison, held brief informal meetings with Xi at the G20 in Japan in 2019. Six years have passed since then-Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull met Xi at the G20 in Hangzhou in 2016.
Albanese said his meeting with Xi is a “good outcome” after years without top-level contact.
“It is not in Australia’s interest to not have communication with our key trading partners,” he told reporters, adding that there are no preconditions for the meeting.
Albanese said he looks forward to a productive meeting with Xi tomorrow.
As with Xi and Biden, few in Australia anticipate Xi and Albanese to mend frayed relations.
John Lee, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute think tank in Washington and former national security adviser to the Australian government, said China’s South China Sea, Taiwan, and South Pacific policies are fundamentally at odds with Australia’s core interests.
“It may be a diplomatic reset, but not one where both parties approach each other in good faith and are willing to compromise,” Lee said.
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