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Australia PM begins White House visit with China, Ukraine on menu
Australia PM begins White House visit with China, Ukraine on menu
By Danny KEMP
Washington (AFP) Oct 24, 2023

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese arrived at the White House on Tuesday for a lavish state visit and talks with President Joe Biden on China, Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas conflict.

The pomp-filled trip comes as Washington looks to reinforce its ties with longtime ally Australia as part of a broader strategy to counter Beijing in the Asia-Pacific region.

"The president's looking forward to the state visit, there is an awful lot on the plate with this important ally and partner in the region," US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

Kirby added that "we expect the situation in the Middle East to come up in the conversation."

The visit is also set to include announcements on technology cooperation -- including a US$3.2 billion Microsoft investment focused on artificial intelligence -- and on clean energy and "critical minerals" to secure supply chains, he said.

The two leaders will also discuss the landmark AUKUS security pact -- which also involves Britain, and would see Australia supplied with nuclear-powered, conventionally-armed submarines.

Albanese is meanwhile seeking to keep Biden focused on Australia's neighborhood while the Israel-Hamas and Ukraine conflicts rage on the other side of the world.

"It will be an important visit," Albanese said Sunday before leaving. "The alliance between Australia and the United States is central to Australia's foreign policy."

The official state visit begins on Wednesday with talks with Biden in the Oval Office and a joint press conference in the Rose Garden.

Albanese will then be honored with a state dinner on the South Lawn of the White House.

However a planned performance by iconic rock band the B-52s has been canceled due to the "sorrow and pain" of the Israel-Hamas conflict, First Lady Jill Biden said Tuesday.

- 'Important time' -

Biden invited Albanese after the US president was forced to cancel a scheduled visit to Australia in May at the last minute and return to Washington to work on a deal to avoid a catastrophic US default.

Washington has been boosting its ties with Australia in recent years.

"It's very important that we remain focused on the Indo Pacific region," the Australian premier told a news conference on Sunday, using the allies' term for the Asia-Pacific region.

While trying to counter China, both countries are also trying to stabilize relations with the world's second biggest economy.

Albanese announced on the eve of the trip that he would visit China in early November for talks with President Xi Jinping. Biden meanwhile may meet Xi at a summit in San Francisco between November 11 and 17.

But Ukraine and the Middle East are also set to come up, with both Washington and Canberra providing military aid for Kyiv's fight against the Russian invasion.

"We believe that there's no more important time than now to have this visit with the Australians," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Monday.

She said it was vital to "demonstrate our strength and partnership... as we are continuing to see the invasion that continues in Ukraine."

The political chaos in Washington, where the US Congress is paralyzed by feuding Republicans' inability to elect a new speaker, will also come up.

Albanese is due to visit Congress, and said he would be "very supportive" of the $106 billion security package that Biden is asking lawmakers to pass -- which includes Ukraine funding and money for the AUKUS pact.

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