SINGAPORE – Australia will continue to advocate for its national interests, but would like tense relations with China to improve, Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said on Monday.
“The trade relationship between China and Australia is … very important,” Frydenberg told Will Koulouris, CNBC. “This is beneficial to each other. Our resources have supported China’s economic growth, and we welcome that.”
“At the same time, China was a very important market for Australia, and our exports to China helped increase revenue here in Australia – a major source of revenue and job creation,” Frydenberg told CNBC as part of the network’s coverage. of the Davos agenda.
Relations between the two main trading partners deteriorated last year when Australia backed a call for an international inquiry into China’s handling of Covid-19, which was first reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
… historically we have had a very good partnership with China and would like to continue
Josh Frydenberg
Australian Treasurer
The national flags of Australia and China are displayed in front of a portrait of Mao Zedong facing Tiananmen Square.
Frederic J. Brown | AFP via Getty Images
In turn, Frydenberg said Australia has a clear sense of its own national interests in areas of security, foreign investment as well as human rights.
“We will continue to advocate and speak out against the national interest of Australia, but once again it should not hinder strong relations in the region. Historically, we have had a very good partnership with China and would like to continue to do so,” he said. he added.
US and its ‘indispensable’ role
Frydenberg said his government was looking forward to working with America’s new president Joe Biden and that the strength of the Australian-American alliance did not depend on which leader was in power in either country.
“The relationship has been strong and lasting – based on mutual respect, based on shared values and definitely shared interests,” he said, adding that the United States plays an “indispensable role in our part of the world, in Asia – Pacific. ‘
We are looking forward to a very constructive relationship between the US and Australia, and this is critical, not only for Australia but also for the United States.
Josh Frydenberg
Australian Treasurer
Under former President Donald Trump, the US seemed to be retreating from a position of influence in the Asia-Pacific region.
Trump withdrew the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement and Washington did not participate in the massive regional economic partnership – signed by China and 14 other Asia-Pacific countries that would make up about 30% of the global population and the world economy represented.
“We are looking forward to a very constructive relationship between the US and Australia, and this is critical, not only for Australia but also for the United States,” Frydenberg said.