Sydney, Australia – While analysts watch for clues about how Australia’s new government will handle relations with China, Canberra’s sights are set on deepening trade with another megamarket closer to home – Southeast Asia.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who leads the centre-left Labor Party, has promised to make strengthening economic engagement with Southeast Asia a top priority. The pivot is part of a concerted effort at trade diversification, aimed at lessening Australia’s dependence on its largest export market, China, which punished Australian exporters after Canberra called for an independent inquiry into the origins of COVID-19 in 2020.
