A death sentence against an Australian and the tightening of Hong Kong's security law overshadowed the Chinese foreign minister's visit to Australia. Nevertheless, China seeks a common denominator with Canberra.
The 21st century will belong to the Pacific, and the economic and political rise of China as a Pacific power means that Beijing and Australia will need to seek out better means of cooperation.
Bilateral relations between China and Australia have been frosty in recent years, but thawed after Anthony Albanese became Australian prime minister in 2022.
After coronavirus travel restrictions were lifted, Albanese traveled to China with Foreign Minister Penny Wong in autumn 2023 to bring about a new start.
And Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's trip to Australia this week was the most senior-level visit of a Chinese official since Wang's last visit in 2017.
The reason for Wang's trip this time around was to prepare for a planned official visit by Chinese Premier Li Qiang later this year. However, there were plenty of other touchy topics up for discussion.
In late February, Yang Hengjun, an Australian pro-democracy blogger, received a suspended death sentence from a Beijing court for espionage.
Yang, who was born in China and received Australian citizenship in 2002, is accused of spying in mainland China on behalf of Taiwan's intelligence service and was arrested in 2019. The blogger had repeatedly and harshly criticized the Chinese government.
"Australia was shocked when the death sentence was announced," said Australia's Foreign Minister Wong after the meeting with her Chinese counterpart. "The Australian government will continue to stand up for Yang."
The planned amendment of Hong Kong's legal system by the city's Beijing-backed legislature to include harsh penalties for vaguely defined offenses like "subversion and treason" has also been sharply criticized as a further erosion of civil liberties.
It will "further erode rights and freedoms," while violating international obligations with "far-reaching consequences," said the Australian foreign minister.
India’s economy will become carbon neutral by the year 2070, the country’s prime minster has announced at the COP26 climate crisis summit in Glasgow. The target date is two decades beyond what scientists say is needed to avert catastrophic climate impacts. India is the last of the world’s major carbon polluters to announce a net-zero target, with China saying it would reach that goal in 2060, and the United States and the European Union aiming for 2050.
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
A crucial U.N. conference heard calls on its first day for the world's major economies to keep their promises of financial help to address the climate crisis, while big polluters India and Brazil made new commitments to cut emissions. World leaders, environmental experts and activists all pleaded for decisive action to halt the global warming which threatens the future of the planet at the start of the two-week COP26 summit in the Scottish city of Glasgow on Monday. The task facing negotiators was made even more daunting by the failure of the Group of 20 major industrial nations to agree ambitious new commitments at the weekend.