Differences between Australia and China will remain, but both foreign ministers this week stressed the need to manage them better to avoid another diplomatic freeze.
Penny Wong’s first trip as foreign minister appears to have been a success. But there is a long road ahead – and lessons from 50 years ago may be useful.
Africa runs the risk, yet again, of being an onlooker while others make policy for the continent.
A diplomatic thaw has occurred between Australia and China, as Foreign Minister Marise Payne meets Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
AAP/EPA/Thomas Peter/ pool
Marise Payne this week became the first Australian foreign minister to visit China in three years – another indication that the frost in the relationship is thawing.
Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, have had a rocky relationship in recent years.
Aaron Favila/AP Pool
The rhetoric between Australia and China is reaching a fever pitch in the media, with less room for journalists to take a more nuanced, objective viewpoint.
Chinese company managers at the site of a highway project in Kenya. While traditional donors fund the social sectors, China’s emphasis is infrastructure.
Reuters/Antony Njuguna
The pervasive new argument is that China is upending the dominance of traditional Africa aid donors from the West. But a new study shows that while China is making inroads, the West is staying put.