China’s message to world leaders as anxiety grows over Trump win

Albanese will use an opening session of the APEC summit to warn about the danger of new trade barriers without naming Trump. He will instead emphasise that breaking down tariff walls has lifted millions of people out of poverty and quadrupled per capita incomes.

“Open, inclusive, rules-based trade remains the best course and surest way to grow our economies and lift the living standards of our citizens,” he says in prepared remarks sent to this masthead.

The prime minister linked the economic objectives to the broader dangers in the world, including the wars in the Middle East and Eastern Europe.

“In every region of the world, peace, security and stability are not the dividends of prosperity, they are the foundation for it,” the draft speech reads.

“This is one of the reasons Australia stands with the international community in calling for a de-escalation of violence in the Middle East.

“And in condemning Russia’s illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine, including the new military support they are receiving from North Korea.”

Albanese also declared on Thursday, local time, that Chinese growth was an opportunity for Australia – a stance at odds with American warnings about the threat from a strategic competitor.

“The rise of China as an economic power is a fact. It’s not theoretical. It’s something that is a fact. And it will also be increasingly driven by economic factors and by population, as well,” Albanese said. He added that populous countries such as India and Indonesia were also changing the global economy.

“And that’s why Australia is well positioned as a country that is located in the fastest-growing region of the world in human history. That represents opportunity,” he said.

But a brief comment by Prabowo towards the end of his opening remarks to Albanese in their formal meeting in Peru on Thursday morning, local time, revealed a key concern about China.

Prabowo said he was trying to improve relations with all of Indonesia’s neighbours, including Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

“And some sort of management with the Chinese to de-escalate and lower the temperature,” he added, before the media was asked to leave the room.

Prabowo raised concerns in Australia and other neighbours in recent days with a statement that acknowledged “overlapping claims” in the South China Sea, which seemed to shift Indonesia’s long-standing position against China’s maritime claims in the area. But the Indonesian president clarified on Wednesday that he was not changing policy on the disputed waters.

“We respect all powers, but we will always safeguard our sovereignty. But I choose to always find possibilities of a partnership,” Prabowo said in Washington, DC, after meeting Biden at the White House.

Prabowo also met US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin in Washington and the two discussed the South China Sea, according to a readout from the US Defence Department.

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Albanese acknowledged the concerns about the South China Sea when asked about his meeting with Prabowo.

“He is looking like other nations in that part of the world, around the South China Sea, to ensure that there is peace and stability and security there, and that there is engagement and dialogue to make sure that there aren’t any incidents that can escalate quickly,” he said.

The messages from all sides appeared to indicate that Australia and Indonesia were taking similar positions on the South China Sea once again.

One of America’s most powerful finance leaders, JPMorgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon, sent a warning signal about the challenges facing Trump when he assumed office on January 20.

“The most important thing is, whoever had been elected, and this is my belief, they are entering and could be responsible for the most complicated geopolitical, military and geo-economic situation that the world has faced since World War II,” Dimon said at the APEC CEO Summit.

“And of course, I wish them all the best. It could be a difficult thing with a lot of unknowns and uncertainties, and so policy is going to matter. And you know, of course, who runs the government will be determinative there.”

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