AAP: PRIME Minister Anthony Albanese will join world leaders including US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping at a major economic summit in Peru.
World leaders including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese are converging in Peru but the man who is stirring most of the discussion won’t be in attendance.
The election of Donald Trump has sent reverberations around diplomatic circles with concerns his protectionist, America-first trade policies and import tariffs could skim tens of billions of dollars off the Australian economy.
Australia will promote stronger trade ties and work with international partners on economic growth, Mr Albanese said ahead of travelling to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference on Wednesday.
“We are working at home and with international partners to put downward pressure on inflation and help safeguard Australia’s economy against global challenges,” he said in a statement.
Mr Albanese said he remained optimistic about the trading relationship under a Trump presidency while Treasurer Jim Chalmers has acknowledged Australia wouldn’t be immune from global shocks coming from any trade war in the region.
“The US has a trade surplus with Australia, it’s in the United States’ interests and also Australia’s interests for there to continue to be trade between our two great nations and I’m confident that will continue to occur,” Mr Albanese said.
Mr Trump’s election comes as APEC leaders from 21 major economies meet to boost trading relationships in the region and promote economic growth.
The forum is set to include US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Peru is searching for more consensus amongst leaders within the non-binding forum after agreement on green energy, economic inclusion of persons with disabilities and reducing food wastage.
Mr Xi is expected to inaugurate a major Chinese-built port and sign an updated free trade agreement with host nation Peru that could boost commerce by as much as 50 per cent, Reuters reports.
Peru is also finalising a trade pact with Hong Kong and negotiating with Thailand and Indonesia.
China has large holdings in major Peruvian mining projects, which Lima wants to diversify by attracting Australian investment with a Peruvian delegation led by the prime minister soliciting interest at a mining conference in Sydney.
Peru had to be wary of being over-reliant on China, which has $US25 billion ($A38 billion) invested in the South American country’s mining and critical minerals sector, Energy Minister Romulo Mucho told AAP.
More than 15,000 police and soldiers have been deployed across the Peruvian capital Lima, schools have been shut down and public servants have been told to work remotely as the leaders arrive.
A ministerial meeting will take place on Thursday before leaders meet on Friday and Saturday.
Mr Albanese will travel from APEC to the G20 summit in Brazil where he will discuss Australia being a “major power” in food security due to its agriculture sector as well as a vital supplier of energy.
