SEOUL, South Korea — Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese emphasized his country’s economic ties with China over the U.S. in a meeting Tuesday with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
The bilateral summit comes as a higher U.S. tariff on Australian goods is set to take effect next month and Australia is hosting a massive military exercise with more than a dozen nations, including the United States.
“China is our major trading partner, the destination for more than 1 in 4 of our export dollars,” Mr. Albanese told a post-summit press conference Tuesday. “Our trade with the U.S. is less than 5%.”
The Australian prime minister’s summit with Mr. Xi has generated scrutiny, given that Mr. Albanese has yet to meet with President Trump, whose tariffs have roiled Australian markets and irked its leaders.
U.S tariffs have raised special ire in Australia, which — unlike regional powerhouses China, Japan, South