Australian Prime Minister Scott MorrisonCredit:AAP
"Australia is in a unique position to engage with both China and the US,"he said,noting Australia came from a"position of friendship with both countries."
Chinese foreign policy analysts have warned the Trump Administration would force US allies to take sides in the trade war,and pointed to Australia's ban onHuawei participating in the 5G network - after national security warnings from Washington - as an early example.
But in theCaixin interview,Morrison claimed the 5G ruling was not directed at any country and China would have made the same decision to protect its critical national assets.
Morrison appeared to be trying to reassure Beijing of Australia's commitment to its strategic partnersip and free trade agreement with China,emphasising that he looked forward to meeting with the Chinese leadership at the East Asia Summit and APEC Summit in Papua New Guinea.
A trade war is dividing the US and China. A cargo ship is docked at the Yangshan container port in Shanghai,China.Credit:AP
US President Donald Trump won't attend either meeting.
Trump's next opportunity to meet with Chinese president Xi Jinping will be next month's G20 summit,but theFinancial Times has reported the Trump administration has told Beijing a meeting won't be scheduled unless Beijing submits a list of trade concessions to the US in advance.