Conflicting Security Priorities Will Haunt Australia-China Rapprochement

The Australian prime minister's recent visit to China represents the reset in relations both countries have sought since last year, but any gains may be short-lived as constraints to rapprochement abound in the form of contradicting national security policies. On Nov. 6, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, becoming the first Australian prime minister to do so since 2016. Both leaders came away from the meeting with glowing reports, with Xi remarking that bilateral relations were now ''on the right path'' and Albanese expressing similar sentiments. Both leaders also affirmed the desire to see each other's economies grow. However, Xi did not miss the opportunity to bemoan the emergence of ''exclusive [geopolitical] cliques, group politics and bloc confrontation,'' references to Australia's position in the U.S.-led China containment strategy as a member of the AUKUS and Quad security pacts. Indeed, the United States will...