The Wire

Prime Minister Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong have visited Beijing, marking the first visit by Australian leadership in seven years. The trip proceeded smoothly, yielding solid photo opportunities for both Canberra and Beijing and signaling a further potential thawing of Australian-Chinese relations.

This week, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit (APEC) is taking place in San Francisco. During the summit, both the Chinese and American Presidents will meet on the sidelines in the hopes of initiating a dialogue to address the strained international relationship between the two nations.

The question remains: what is the reason behind Beijing’s sudden interest in participating more actively in international diplomacy?