Australia’s new Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, attends the Quad, after winning the election on Saturday and being sworn in on Monday.
And Chinese leader Xi Jinping played a pivotal role in the election, which was dogged by allegations of foreign interference and partly fought over issues of national security.
Acidifying relationships: Australia’s relations with China have deteriorated under the Liberal-National coalition’s reign – which began at the same time as Xi’s rule.
Relations soured further in 2020 when the Australian government called for an investigation into the origins of Covid-19. China responded with sanctions against Australian exports, including beef, barley, wine and lobster.
China’s response hardened public stance in Australia and forced Canberra to lead charges against China’s coercive acts.
Xi’s face on ads: During the pre-election campaign period, Xi’s face was splashed on billboards, with ads claiming he supported certain candidates – which is perfectly legal, as there are no laws in Australia about truth in political ads.
Andrew Hughes, a marketing expert at the Australian National University, says Australia is known as the ‘Wild West’ when it comes to political advertising, but China’s use in this campaign was remarkable nonetheless.
“It’s actually more noticeable, I think, in this election than I’ve ever seen the use of a foreign government in post-war election campaigns,” Hughes said.
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