He added he had invited Biden to address a joint sitting of parliament when he visits Australia next year for a meeting of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Biden was consulting America’s closest allies to identify the issues he should discuss with Xi in their first meeting since Biden’s inauguration almost three years ago.
Biden also met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol in Phnom Penh to help prepare for his meeting with Xi.
Sullivan said Biden would ask his fellow leaders:“What would you like me to raise? What do you want me to go in with? That’s the kind of style that he takes to his engagement with the[People’s Republic of China] generally and with Xi specifically.”
Biden entered his meeting with Albanese on a high after it was confirmed earlier in the day that Democrats would retaincontrol of the US Senate after his party outperformed expectations in the US midterm elections.
“I know I’m coming in stronger,” Biden said when asked if he felt he was entering his meeting with Xi in a more powerful position following the midterm results.
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“I’ve always had straightforward discussions with him.”
Biden said his aim was to pinpoint the leaders’ “red lines” so that economic competition between the world’s dominant superpowers does not morph into military conflict.
Biden has suggested several times the US would intervene to defend Taiwan if China invades the self-governing island,a significant break from the longstanding US policy of “strategic ambiguity” on Taiwan.
Biden and Albanese’s last substantial meeting was in Tokyo in May,just days after Labor’s election victory.
Albanese’s informal discussion with Li during a gala dinner on Saturday night hosted by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen was a precursor to his own possible meeting later this week with Xi.
Anthony Albanese had an informal conversation with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang during a gala dinner at the ASEAN summit in Cambodia.Credit:Facebook/TVK Cambodia
While the prime minister’s office is quietly confident a meeting will take place,Xi has beenkeeping Albanese guessing about whether he will grant him a meeting.
Xi has not met with an Australian prime minister since Malcolm Turnbull in 2016,before the near-total collapse in bilateral relations as China applied $20 billion worth of sanctions on Australian exports.
“We are awaiting any finalisation of any meeting,” Albanese said on Saturday. “It is not locked in at this point ... I’ll look forward to having a constructive dialogue if a meeting takes place.”
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Albanese spoke to Li,who is second in command in the Chinese Communist Party’s leadership hierarchy,for approximately four minutes via interpreters.
The prime minister’s office said Albanese and Li spoke about the upcoming 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and Australia among other topics.
Li sent Albanese a message of congratulations after his May election victory,an initial move to try to stabilise the Australia-China relationship after years of turbulence.
Albanese will head to Bali on Monday,where he will deliver a keynote address to the B20 business summit,which will run parallel to the G20 leaders’ forum.
In his speech Albanese will say world leaders face a “collective economic challenge new to the G20,indeed new to our generation” in the form of soaring inflation.
Comparing the current challenges to the global financial crisis of 2008,Albanese will say:“For governments to see-off the threat of inflation,to prevent runaway inflation from eroding national prosperity and devaluing people’s wages we must ensure fiscal policy is working in concert with monetary policy,not contradicting it.”
Cut through the noise of federal politics with news,views and expert analysis from Jacqueline Maley. Subscribers can sign up to our weeklyInside Politics newsletter here.