Well, I’m very pleased to be here at APEC being hosted here in Lima, Peru, at the Economic Leaders’ Meeting. And thank you all for joining me here. APEC comes at an important time for Australia and for the world. The world has been dealing with the global inflation challenge. Global challenges require global action. And that will be a focus of the APEC meeting over the next two days. My focus will be on promoting Australia’s national interests, which are about free and fair trade and making sure that we engage with our economic partners in the region. APEC represents 75 per cent of Australia’s trade. And we know that one in four Australian jobs is dependent upon trade. And that’s why it’s important that we engage with our partners here.
This morning, the first meeting I had was with the incoming President of Indonesia, President Prabowo. It’s our first meeting after his inauguration, following our hosting of the President-Elect, as he was then, in just two months ago in Canberra, where we engaged as President Prabowo has regularly with Australia. He’s a great friend of us, and we of Indonesia. Indonesia is an important neighbour for Australia. And as we speak, there are joint defence exercises taking place in the Northern Territory. And next year, Indonesia will participate, along with other nations, in Operation Talisman Sabre, which is held regularly and hosted by Australia. We spoke about the importance of our economic relationship, as well as defence and security issues, as well as a number of other bilateral issues that we are working through. But it is terrific that someone has been elected who has such a good relationship with Australia. He’s been very good friends with our Defence Minister and Deputy Prime Minister for a long period of time, and he has a great affection for Australia.
I also met our host, the President of Peru. And we discussed the bilateral engagement between Australia and Peru, the fact that we have considerable engagement through agriculture and through mining in particular. And this evening, I will host an event attended by 120 Australian business people, major companies that are investing here, BHP and others in the resources sector, as well as investors in agriculture, about the prospect of increased engagement, particularly here in South America, but right across APEC nations. It’s good that people such as Mark Birrell, the head of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and other senior Australian business people have travelled to APEC. The business sideline is an important part of APEC, as well as the G20 that Brazil will be hosting after this ends. I think this week is an opportunity for us to advance Australia’s economic interests, because we are a trading nation, and because one In four of our jobs relies upon that trade. Happy to take some questions.
JOURNALIST: Did President Prabowo and you discuss the incoming Trump Administration and what that would mean for the world?
PRIME MINISTER: We had a good discussion. He had a phone conversation with President Trump, as I did last week. So, we discussed that and what it might mean for the world. Obviously, that’s part of the backdrop of APEC and the G20 is what the impact of a change in US Administration will have.
JOURNALIST: Did you discuss the South China Sea, and what Indonesia’s position is on China’s claims in the South China Sea?
PRIME MINISTER: President Prabowo has visited both Beijing and Washington in the early period of his presidency. And he is looking like other nations in that part of the world, around the South China Sea, to ensure that there is peace and stability and security there, and that there is engagement and dialogue to make sure that there aren’t any incidents that can escalate quickly. We know, as I’ve said in my Shangri-La Dialogue speech in Singapore last year, it is important that there be engagement and communication so that there isn’t misunderstanding.
JOURNALIST: Can you outline what opportunities, PM, you think the global uncertainty around the second Trump Administration will bring for Australia?
PRIME MINISTER: The impact, for example, on climate policy. We’ll wait and see what that has, potentially given Australia’s position in the world and the resources that we have. There are potential benefits if there are changes in US policy. We’ll wait and see what occurs. Of course, President Trump won’t be sworn in until January 20. But the world is giving consideration, of course, to the changes that will occur.
JOURNALIST: While we were flying to Peru, a close confidant of Trump has tweeted an image of an hourglass in reference to, seemingly, our Ambassador, Kevin Rudd’s potentially short-lived status going forward in that role once Trump becomes President. What is your response to that? Do you remaining confident that Ambassador Rudd will be able to continue in that role?
PRIME MINISTER: Ambassador Rudd is doing a good job. And that’s been recognised across the political spectrum in Australia by people from Tony Abbott to Malcolm Turnbull to Peter Dutton and, obviously, to the Australian Government.
JOURNALIST: Just to go back to that previous question, are you concerned that if President Trump does impose tariffs on multiple countries, that countries all around the world will become even more reliant on China?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we’ll wait and see what the impact is. I don’t want to pre-empt action for a government that isn’t in place yet. But obviously, there’ll be some consideration. We did, as was indicated at Senate estimates, obviously, agencies in Australia, and I’m sure around the world, looked at what the policies of the Democrats and the Republicans were prior to the election. Because the United States represents a quarter of the global economy, the impact that they have is disproportionate, accordingly.
JOURNALIST: You’ve described Australia as a middle of power. Do you see a possible magnification of our voice by speaking alongside people like Singapore or President Prabowo and having a shared message when it comes to dealing with China and the US?
PRIME MINISTER: We have really good relations in our region. One of the things that we have done is to improve relations with the Pacific, but also with our ASEAN neighbours. I hosted all of the ASEAN leaders in Melbourne in March. And every single leader of every ASEAN country, with the obvious exception of Myanmar, due to the circumstances there, attended Melbourne and participated. I’ll be meeting, having a bilateral with Lawrence Wong. During my visit to the Shangri-La Dialogue, he hosted us because, unfortunately, Prime Minister Lee had COVID at that time, so he hosted the Shangri-La Dialogue. And I’ve had a lot of contact with Lawrence Wong, the Prime Minister, and with other leaders, including President Prabowo. And today would have been the seventh or eighth time that we have met both in Indonesia and in Australia and now in international forums.
These relationships are really important, just as the relationship with countries like India, through Prime Minister Modi, is important for Australia. We are a middle power. At the G20, there’ll be the MIKTA meeting, which is the middle powers, Mexico, including people from different countries throughout and different continents, one in each effectively. And we’ll continue to engage, but particularly in our region. The ASEAN meeting was a very successful one. And we’ll continue that dialogue.
JOURNALIST: Following Trump’s election, President Macron warned EU leaders that they had to ramp up defence spending (inaudible). Is that a message for Pacific leaders as well?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we, of course, are responsible for our own defence policy. And we’re ramping up our investment. We are investing in our capability, but we’re also investing in our relationships. Both of those measures are important.
JOURNALIST: PM, you spoke about the potential benefits for Australia if Trump will do some of the things he’s saying he will do. Do you see benefits outside green energy, or is that primarily where we may be able to attract investors from the US? And is this something, a message you’ll be spreading on these two trips?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the Inflation Reduction Act, for example, has seen considerable capital flow to the United States. If those incentives aren’t there, then that has implications for the nature of the global economy. But we don’t pre-empt that. Governments, when they come in, can’t instantly make changes. But certainly, we see that Australia has great opportunity through climate action. We see that it’s important for our environment, but I also see it as about economic opportunity. We have all of the resources under the ground that will drive the global economy in the 21st century. Copper, vanadium, cobalt, lithium, etc. We have a great opportunity to produce green hydrogen through use of the renewables.
We have the best solar resources in the world. And this represents opportunity for Australia to participate in those measures. Just as other issues of development of new technology, we see this as fitting in with our Future Made in Australia agenda is about Australia being more resilient.
JOURNALIST: PM, what about Chinese investment? President Xi is coming here to open a major port, 3.5 billion in Chinese investment in Peru. There’s massive Chinese investment around South America. What’s your view of what’s happening globally with the rise of China, and that investment? Is your attitude to that investment wary or welcoming?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, nation states will make their own decisions, of course. And we have Chinese investment in Australia, which is welcome. The economic relationship between our two countries is an important one for Australia. They’re our major trading partner. Countries will make their own decisions about investment. The rise of China as an economic power is a fact. It’s not theoretical. It’s something that is a fact. And it will also be increasingly driven by economic factors and by population, as well. As technology is ubiquitous in how it is rolled out, so that a technological breakthrough in one country spreads to others. Increasingly, population will be a driver of economic growth. And that’s why countries in our region, such as China, but also Indonesia, India and other nations, will have considerable economic growth in the future. And that’s why Australia is well positioned as a country that is located in the fastest growing region of the world in human history. That represents opportunity.
JOURNALIST: Will you be meeting President Xi?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we’ll make announcements at appropriate times.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, will there be a stop in Florida or the US to try and see President-Elect Trump in person? For a range of reasons, no doubt. Other world leaders have expressed their want to try and do that after the G20 Summit. Are you endeavouring and do you envisage that you will have an in-person meeting with Mr Trump ahead of his inauguration?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I’ll have a meeting with President Trump when it is organised. We spoke about gathering. And I’m sure that will occur. I intend to be in Parliament next Thursday, when our Parliament is sitting. But we’ve had a very constructive beginning to our relationship, with a very constructive phone call. And it was very positive. Thanks a lot.
