Anthony Albanese draws comparison with Cold War ahead of high-stakes China talks

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has drawn comparisons with the Cold War ahead of talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, stressing the need to maintain dialogue even in the face of deep disagreements and Beijing’s military aggression.

Mr Albanese will meet Premier Li on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Laos on Thursday, kicking off two-days of talks with regional partners.

The face-to-face meeting – the first since Mr Albanese hosted Premier Li in Australia in June - comes amid heightened tensions over China’s repeated acts of aggression in the South China Sea.

In the latest flare up, the Philippines has accused China’s coast guard of firing water cannons at government ships.

“National security in our region is obviously critical, and we remain concerned about the events in the South China Sea,” Mr Albanese told question time in Canberra before flying out to Laos.

Mr Albanese said the meeting with Premier Li would continue the Federal Government’s “patient, deliberate and calibrated work” to stabilise relations with Australia’s largest trading partner.

But the Prime Minister said he would “very directly” raise Australia’s long list of grievances with China, which are likely to include Beijing’s behaviour in the South China Sea and the plight of detained writer Australian Yang Hengjun.

Mr Albanese is also continuing to push China to lift its ban on rock lobster imports – the last of the major trade sanctions Beijing slapped on Canberra at the height of the diplomatic deep freeze between the two countries during COVID-19.

“We do have strategic competition in the region and it’s important, though, that that dialogue occurred,” Mr Albanese told Sky News.

“When there was disagreement in the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union there were always channels of communication and that is important.”

Mr Albanese will hold also talks with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Thursday.

A bilateral meting with new Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishida has also been pencilled in.

Mr Albanese will also attend the East Asia Summit on Friday, which brings together political leaders from 18 countries including the US, Russia and India.

The threat of the Israel-Gaza conflict spilling over into a regionwide war will hang over the Laos summit.

Mr Albanese will also have a focus on business and investment, attending a forum alongside Australia’s special envoy to South Asia and former Macquarie Group chief executive Nicholas Moore.

Mr Moore developed the investment strategy that aims to boost trade between Australia and Southeast Asian nations through to 2040.

“The nations of South East Asia combined will represent the fourth-largest economy in the world by 2040,” Mr Albanese said.

“South East Asia is where Australia’s economic destiny lies and yet less than 4 per cent of international investment goes to South East Asia,” Mr Albanese said.