Overview

• In an Australian Financial Review op-ed, Chinese Ambassador Xiao Qian urged a review of the 2015 free-trade agreement to add collaboration in artificial intelligence, healthcare, green energy and the digital economy.
• Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will travel to Shanghai, Beijing and Chengdu this weekend on a week-long mission to discuss Beijing’s formal proposal.
• He has made no commitment to broaden the pact’s scope, stating that Canberra will “determine our policy” on new sectors including AI.
• Bilateral trade has fully rebounded to pre-sanction levels after China lifted barriers on Australian exports such as wine and barley.
• Analysts caution that deep AI cooperation could threaten Australia’s data sovereignty and pose national security risks.