Anthony Albanese has been photographed in an embarrassing moment, holding hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
With Albanese’s right hand gripping President Xi’s left and his left hand gripping UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s right, they joined the other leaders of the world’s top 20 economies in what seemed like an excruciating experience for all involved.
However, there was one glaring absence from the ‘family photo’: outgoing US President Joe Biden decided to skip the photo opportunity.
Other notable absences from the group photo to commemorate the launch of the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty were Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Giorgia Meloni of Italy.
But if the American, Canadian and Italian leaders wanted to avoid being photographed holding hands with Xi, Albanese was right there, front and center, even if he looked very uncomfortable while doing so.
Xi had previously acknowledged the “twists and turns” in China’s difficult relationship with Australia while holding direct talks with Albanese at the summit.
It was the third formal discussion between the leaders since Albanese took office in 2022, following China’s strained relations with his predecessor Scott Morrison.
But the comfort was too much for some, with Pauline Hanson tweeting that “Xi Jinping is playing (Mr Albanese) for a fool and is too busy patting himself on the back over trade deals to see what’s really happening.”
Anthony Albanese has been photographed in an embarrassing moment, holding hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro.
Albanese met Xi at the Chinese leader’s hotel in Rio on Monday, 10 years to the day the two countries signed a comprehensive strategic partnership established under then-Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
Later at the summit, Xi highlighted the “change” in relations between the two countries, referencing trade sanctions Beijing implemented in response to perceived slights from Australia, including a call to investigate the origins of Covid-19. 19.
The meeting came after Beijing’s state newspaper, China Daily, praised Prime Minister Albanese as a world leader that other Westerners should try to emulate.
“Over the past decade, we have made some progress in China-Australia relations and have also witnessed some twists and turns,” President Xi said on Monday.
‘That trajectory has many inspirations to offer…now, our relations have taken a turn and continue to grow, bringing tangible benefits to both of our peoples.
‘So this is the result of our collective hard work in the same direction and it must be maintained very carefully.
“I look forward to working with you, Mr. Prime Minister, to make our comprehensive strategic partnership more mature, stable and fruitful, and inject more stability and certainty into the region and the world at large.”
Albanese thanked President Xi for hosting him in Beijing last year and welcomed the fact that leaders’ meetings had “restarted” between the two countries.
The Prime Minister also took to X to share images of the two leaders shaking hands and stated how to stabilize relations in the interest of both nations.
‘Dialogue is essential and we have made encouraging progress. Trade flows more freely. And that brings benefits to both countries, and to people and businesses on both sides,” Mr. Albanese wrote.
‘Our approach will continue to be patient, calibrated and deliberate. It is important that we have direct debates on the issues that matter to us and to the stability and prosperity of our region.’
Anthony Albanese (left) meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Brazil.
China Daily’s glowing editorial last Thursday congratulated Australia for “waking up” to the importance of China and praised Albanese for his “strategic autonomy”.
“Australia’s ties with China deteriorated when the previous Australian government fell under Washington’s anti-China spell,” the editorial said.
“But Canberra has realized the importance of those links under the Albanese government and has set out to repair them.”
But Albanese said his government had “not changed our position on any of the key differences we have” with China.
Instead, the government had worked to rebuild trade relationships to boost Australia’s economic prosperity and job creation, he said.
‘We continue to explore opportunities for practical cooperation in areas of shared interest, including our energy transition and climate change.
‘Our entire region will benefit from the prosperity that can arise from peace, security and stability in our region.
“That’s why our direct discussions are so important to achieving a deeper understanding of the issues we care about.”
Anthony Albanese and his fiancée Jodie Haydon (pictured) arrived in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday night local time.
President Xi hopes to have countries like Australia on his side amid the possibility of a tariff war with the United States once Donald Trump becomes US president again in January.
Trump has threatened to impose tariffs of 60 percent on Chinese imports and tariffs of up to 20 percent on all other imports in an “America First” policy.
Albanese will have to be careful not to upset either China or the United States as the world waits to see if Trump will do exactly what he has promised or if there will be any room for maneuver.
Under the Labor government’s watch since May 2022, China has lifted bans on almost $20 billion worth of Australian goods, which had been imposed under the previous Coalition administration under Morrison.
Addressing a meeting on hunger and poverty in Rio de Janeiro, Albanese risked the wrath of China by condemning its close ally North Korea.
He said the hermit communist state is sending soldiers to fight the war in Ukraine “while its own people starve.”
The Prime Minister also urged other world leaders present not to “lose sight” of the effect that global economic challenges are having on people in their “daily lives.”
Albanese will also hold one-on-one meetings with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in the coming days.
Before flying to Rio de Janeiro for the G20 meeting, he was in Lima, Peru, for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
From Lima, Albanese tweeted that “More trade means more jobs.” That is what I am promoting here at APEC and next week at the G20.”