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Labor and Coalition plans to scrap a lease on Darwin Port held by a Chinese-based company have been condemned by Beijing.
The government and opposition have both pledged to buy back the port from its 99-year lease to Landbridge, regardless of who wins the election.
However, the Chinese foreign ministry cautions that politicizing the lease could harm the recently improved Australia-China relations after a prolonged period of strain.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said last weekend the government had been working “for some time” to get the port back into Australian hands.
Albanese also criticised the port’s sale in 2015.
“This situation stemmed directly from the Abbott government’s 2014 budget initiative of asset recycling, which offered incentives for state and territory governments to sell off our assets, including infrastructure,” he said.
Since the Albanese government was elected in May 2022, relations with China, the biggest market for Australian exporters, have steadily improved.
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This followed the Chinese communist government’s imposition of trade sanctions on Australian industries, as the relationship between the two nations reached a nadir. This downturn was incited by the former Coalition government’s push for an investigation into the origins of COVID-19 and allegations of foreign interference.
The lost trade for Australian exports was worth an estimated $20 billion.
