Anthony Albanese defends Darwin port stance from Great Wall of China, Australian businesses won’t be iced out

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has dismissed suggestions Australian businesses could be iced out of the Chinese market over the Government’s decision to put the strategic port of Darwin back into Australia’s hands.

Chinese objections to Labor’s election promise to overturn the awarding of a 99-year lease of the port to the Beijing-owned Landbridge group have loomed over Mr Albanese’s red carpet reception in China this week, with state media repeatedly highlighting the controversy.

Mr Albanese on Wednesday confirmed that the sale of the port had not been raised directly with him in talks with Premier Li Qiang or Chinese President Xi Jinping, who offered a rare lunch invitation to the Prime Minister and fiancee Jodie Haydon.

Mr Li continued the charm offensive at a roundtable of Chinese and Australian business leaders in the imposing Great Hall of the People on Tuesday but alluded to the point of contention by urging Australia to create a “non-discriminatory business environment.”

“We hope that the Australian side will treat Chinese enterprises visiting Australia fairly and properly solve the problems encountered by enterprises in market access, investment review, and other aspects,” Mr Li said.

The Global Times, a state-run media outlet, was more direct.

“At present, there are specific issues between China and Australia that need to be discussed, such as the lease of Darwin Port and the expansion of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement,” it said.

“There are also practical obstacles, especially the tendencies toward “pan-politicisation” and “pan-securitisation,” as well as interference from third parties,” it continued in an otherwise glowing account of Mr Albanese’s trip so far.

Asked during a press conference on the Great Wall of China on Wednesday if he was prepared for Australia to be put back into the deep freeze on the issue, Mr Albanese responded with a straight, “the answer is no.”

The Prime Minister’s six-day trip has been centred on repairing business and trade ties after a diplomatic spat under the Morrison government triggered a series of damaging import bans on key commodities, which have since been lifted.

Labor has stressed, however, that it will not budge over the cancelling of the Landbridge lease for national security reasons.

Mr Albanese told reporters that this was a long held position “shouldn’t come as any surprise.”

However, Chinese officials have long protested over changes made to the Foreign Investment Review Board under the previous Government after the port lease was awarded to a Chinese-state owned operator by the Northern Territory authorities.

That decision was viewed by many at the time, including in Washington, as a strategic mistake that compromised national security.

The Government has rejected Beijing’s suggestions that Chinese companies are now being unfairly targeted by rules requiring greater scrutiny in sensitive investment areas.

Ahead of Mr Albanese’s trip, the Government indicated it would not be prepared to ease restrictions or to accede to Chinese requests for greater cooperation on artificial intelligence capabilities.

“We have a case by case issue when it comes to foreign investment,” said Mr Albanese.

“It is viewed not on the basis of any one country, but on the basis of an objective assessment of our national interest.”

He added, “One of the things that I emphasise - I say the same thing in Beijing as I say in Bankstown, which is that the Australian Government supports free and fair trade. It’s in the interests of the world to have free and fair trade, and we’ll continue to engage that way.”

The Prime Minister also revealed Communist Party Chairman Zhao Leji had agreed to an invitation to lead a National People’s Congress delegation to Australia.

“It is very clear that it is in our national interest for us to have a positive relationship with China, where there are differences, to talk about them, but not be defined by them,” he said.