Australia’s new PM Albanese heads to Tokyo, says relationship with China to remain ‘a difficult one’
- Australia’s new prime minister Anthony Albanese was sworn in Monday ahead of a Quad summit in Tokyo
- Joining him in Japan will be Malaysia-born Penny Wong, the first Australian foreign minister to be born abroad
Australia’s new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday said the country’s relationship with China would remain “a difficult one”, before leaving for a Quad summit in Japan with US President Joe Biden and leaders of Japan and India.
“It is China that has changed, not Australia, and Australia should always stand up for our values and we will in a government that I lead,” Albanese said during a media briefing, after taking charge as the country’s 31st prime minister.
Australia’s relations with China, its largest trading partner, are at a low ebb after they clashed over a number of issues including trade, the origins of the coronavirus and accusations from Australia of foreign interference.
Albanese’s centre-left Labor Party ousted predecessor Scott Morrison’s conservative coalition at Saturday’s election. The coalition had been in power under three prime ministers for nine years.
Albanese, raised in public housing by a single mother on a disability pension, was sworn in by Governor-General David Hurley at a ceremony in the national capital, Canberra.
“It’s a big day in my life but a big day for the country, when we change the government,” Albanese told reporters outside his Sydney suburban home ahead of the ceremony.
“I want to channel the opportunity that we have to shape change so that we bring people with us on the journey of change. I want to bring the country together.”
Australia’s new PM has chance to mend fences with China: analysts
Deputy Labor leader Richard Marles and three key ministers – Penny Wong in foreign affairs, Jim Chalmers as treasurer and Katy Gallagher in finance – were also sworn in, with Wong to join Albanese on the Quad trip to Tokyo.
The security summit will be held on Tuesday with Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Wong, who was born in Malaysia and raised in Australia, becomes the first Australian foreign minister to be born abroad.
Albanese said he spoke to Biden on Sunday night and was looking forward to meeting him alongside the prime ministers of Japan and India on Tuesday. He will return to Australia on Wednesday.
“This visit aligns with what the Albanese Government sees as the three pillars of Australia’s foreign policy: our alliance with the United States, our engagement with the region, and our support for multilateral forums,” Albanese said in a statement.
Labor’s campaign heavily spotlighted Albanese’s working-class credentials and his image as a pragmatic unifier.
Centre-left Labor still remains four seats short of a majority of 76 in the 151 seat lower house with about a dozen races too close to call, according to television channels. Some predicted Labor might get enough seats to govern on their own.
Official results could be several days away, with the counting of a record 2.7 million postal votes under way on Sunday.
Additional reporting by dpa and Agence France-Presse
