Australian Trade Hangs in the Balance as Turnbull Meets Trump

A country with Western roots on the edge of the Asia-Pacific, Australia has long focused on preserving the balance between East and West. Though a close ally of the United States for decades, Australia has forged deep trade links in recent years with China, the economic juggernaut in its neighborhood. Now, with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull off to meet U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. defense and security officials for the first state visit by an Australian leader since 2006, Canberra will exert efforts to maintain this delicate equilibrium. Turnbull hopes to use his Feb. 21-24 visit to acquire insight into Australia's possible role in the United States' emerging regional strategy and promote a nonconfrontational trade and defense architecture that could maintain the dominance of U.S. allies while providing alternatives to current patterns dominated by China. But with Washington seemingly focused on protectionist measures, Turnbull may return empty-handed --...