China should practise what it preaches on free trade

President Xi Jinping has told Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in their meeting at the G20 that they should “maintain with great care” the revived economic relationship between their two nations. China’s leader made it clear that he expects greater investment access to Australia as the price for ending the three-year trade ban on our exports.

Xi called for “a fair, transparent, and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies”. That’s code for Beijing’s unhappiness with the tighter screening of China’s investment in sensitive areas like farm land, agribusinesses, media, and telecoms, and the past blocking of Chinese bids for critical infrastructure like energy transmission. Albanese says that he will continue to stand up for the national interest, even as our economic ties with China improve.