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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Daniel Hurst Foreign affairs and defence correspondent

Kevin Rudd: Australia’s incoming ambassador to US says balloon saga threatens push to ease tensions with China

Chinese President, Xi Jinping. and US President, Joe Biden shake hands before their meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit meeting last year.
Chinese President, Xi Jinping, and US President, Joe Biden, shake hands before their meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit last year. Photograph: Alex Brandon/AP

The incoming Australian ambassador to the United States, Kevin Rudd, has warned the Chinese balloon saga has created new “diplomatic clouds” that put at risk recent efforts to ease tensions between Beijing and Washington.

In a speech in Brisbane on Wednesday, Rudd also warned against expecting any “softening in China’s ideological cleavage with the west”.

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