Anthony Albanese heads to ASEAN summit, with meeting with Chinese PM on agenda

Anthony Albanese will hold his fifth meeting today, the second in a few months, with his Chinese counterpart Li Qiang, on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Laos.

This will be an opportunity for the Prime Minister to discuss China's recent test firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile over the Pacific, after the government indicated it had requested an explanation.

Premier Li visited Australia in June and Mr Albanese met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing late last year, with the visits indicating an improvement in China-Australia relations.

But Australian concerns over security and trade are expected to dominate today's meeting, including China's ongoing trade ban on Australian lobsters.

Asked last weekend about Chinese missile tests, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles indicated that Australia had already made its views known.

“We have, following this test, requested an explanation from China on the purpose of this test,” he said.

“We are not clear on why China did this.”

Before the trip, the Prime Minister was asked on Sky News whether he was seeking to avoid “shaking things up” in relations with China.

Mr Albanese spoke of the history of the Cold War, saying it highlighted the importance of maintaining lines of communication.

“We face strategic competition in the region, but it is important that this dialogue takes place,” he said.

“When there were disagreements during the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, there were always channels of communication.

“It's important. That's why Jim Chalmers' proposal [recent visit to Beijing] was important.”

Security issues in Myanmar and the South China Sea are expected to once again dominate the summit as a whole, after posing constant challenges to ASEAN for some time.

But Susannah Patton, director of the Lowy Institute's Southeast Asia program, said substantial progress on either issue remained unlikely.

“The South China Sea, Myanmar and, to a lesser extent, global issues such as the Middle East conflict and Russia's invasion of Ukraine will all be addressed,” she said.

“But it is unlikely that ASEAN will be able to make significant progress on any of these issues.”

She said ASEAN's focus on Myanmar has largely shifted to humanitarian aid and access to Myanmar, while ASEAN remains deeply divided over its approach to China.

With the US presidential election just weeks away, neither US President Joe Biden nor Vice President Kamala Harris will attend this year's summit, but will send Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Australia once again brings its trade case to ASEAN

The Federal Government has made the development of Australian businesses in South East Asia a key part of its foreign policy in the region.

He expressed frustration that, for several years, global investment in the region has increased, while Australian investment has declined.

Mr Albanese will host a breakfast marking the first anniversary of the publication of a South-East Asia economic strategy written by former Macquarie Bank chief executive Nicholas Moore.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong used a recent speech to the Asia Society and the Australian Financial Review to highlight the government's work to boost business in the region, but also called on Australian businesses to step up their efforts.

“We all need to play our part,” she said.

“Complacency, or the status quo, has a cost, and it’s a cost that risks compromising our influence today and our prosperity tomorrow.”

Some business figures in the region say there has been a surge in interest and that some government measures, such as the creation of “investor teams” in several major cities, have had an impact.

Jennifer Mathews of the Australian Indonesia Business Council said the change was noticeable.

“We are starting to see an uptick in activity, but we still have a little way to go before we fully realize the potential the region offers Australia,” she said.

Ms Mathews sees visas as an area where there is still room for change, capitalizing on the region's growing wealth and new interest in visiting Australia.

“What we're seeing in the region is a huge growth in the middle class, who are keen to travel and keen to come to Australia,” she said.

“So it's really about finding the right balance between the opportunity that we have to actually grow our tourism industry and any sort of risk assessment that's done.”

Improving visas was one of the key recommendations of Nicholas Moore's report, and the government responded with changes to business visas.

But Susannah Patton, of the Lowy Institute, said recent changes to business visas could complicate the government's case.

“We have seen, for example, the price of student visas double,” she said.

“So it doesn't help Australia much, in the sense that it doesn't convey the image of a country that is friendly and open to the region.”