Keating Gave Albanese Xi Talking Points as PM Sought China Advice After 2025 Reelection
Updated
Updated · POLITICO · Aug 16
Keating Gave Albanese Xi Talking Points as PM Sought China Advice After 2025 Reelection
3 articles · Updated · POLITICO · Aug 16
Summary
Several hours of prep at Kirribilli House saw Paul Keating coach Anthony Albanese for a meeting with Xi Jinping, even advising him to keep a folded memo in his breast pocket.
After Albanese’s 2025 reelection, Keating said the prime minister sought a counterweight to departmental briefings and U.S. pressure for higher Australian defense spending.
Keating urged Albanese to move beyond mere China “stabilization” toward deeper engagement, including resisting any automatic alignment with Washington in a Taiwan war.
Ahead of an October 2025 meeting with Donald Trump, Keating also texted Albanese that Australia should not host nuclear-armed U.S. assets, arguing America had “sold us out” during China’s 2020 trade coercion.
The account comes from biographer James Curran’s book due Sept. 1; Albanese’s office declined to discuss the private conversations.