One of the more interesting byplays at the recent Apec meeting in Sydney was the interaction between Australia and Beijing. President Hu Jintao lectured Australian Prime Minister John Howard on the primacy of the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, as the assembled officials cobbled together their so-called Sydney Declaration on global warming. That agreement sets a target of a 25 per cent reduction in energy consumption by 2030, and a 20-million-hectare increase in forested areas in the Asia-Pacific region by 2020. The goal: an annual 11 per cent cut in global greenhouse emissions. Beijing appears to view the Sydney Declaration as complimenting, but in no sense replacing, the Kyoto Protocol. Mr Hu took a direct swipe at Mr Howard and US President George W. Bush for refusing to sign up for Kyoto's binding reduction targets. Mr Hu did not mince his words. He told Mr Bush, Mr Howard and other Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum participants that developed countries should face up to their historical responsibility for global warming and their current high per capita emissions of greenhouse gases; strictly abide by their emissions reduction targets; and continue to take the lead in reducing emissions after 2012, when Kyoto expires. Mr Hu made it clear that Beijing regards the Kyoto framework as 'the core mechanism and main channel for addressing climate change'. In other words, Mr Hu was directly contradicting Mr Howard's view, expressed as recently as September 2, that 'continuing down the Kyoto path is [not] going to provide a solution to the problem'. Mr Howard and Australia also appear at odds with Beijing on the Japan-US-Australia security dialogue. It became a reality at Apec when Mr Bush, Mr Howard and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met. Beijing sees it as an element of a broader, US-Japan-driven containment strategy. But Mr Hu and the Chinese delegation can afford to stay relaxed about these points of difference. Mr Howard is facing almost certain defeat in a general election this year. His opponent Kevin Rudd, the leader of the Australian Labor Party, impressed Mr Hu and upstaged Mr Howard at a lunch last week by delivering a personal message to the Chinese leader in fluent Putonghua. What's more, Mr Rudd has committed Australia to signing the Kyoto Protocol. While he supports the concept of a trilateral security dialogue, he is not a fan of inviting India to join the meetings. Mr Howard left that subject open, to Beijing's vexation. But whichever of them is dealing with Beijing next year, one new challenge emerged at Apec: Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin wants his country to throw its weight around the Asia-Pacific region, primarily through energy and military hardware deals. Australia will need to balance its relations with Russia and Beijing, and may find itself working as a middleman to reduce tensions. Greg Barns is a political commentator in Australia and a former government adviser