Caught in the crossfire: Can Australia straddle the east west divide?

The uneasy truce between Australia and the People's Republic of China reached just over a month ago amid an outpouring of mutual goodwill in Beijing, has done little to alter the fundamental differences between the two nations. China has had a stranglehold on critical minerals for years, which puts us smack in the middle of a geopolitical tug of war between America and the Middle Kingdom. Australia's new trade battlefront with China The itinerary of Anthony Albanese's latest foreign excursions involved some incredible diplomatic U-turns that neatly sum up the dilemma and danger we face in our region, writes business editor Ian Verrender. The race now is on to, if not cut China out of the lithium and rare earths loop, to at least ensure adequate supplies are designated to "Friendly" countries and to reduce dependency on China. The Australia-China relationship has been tested in recent years as China's global power ambitions have seen it butt heads with Washington. Why China could be heading for a fall For much of the past 15 years, China has been developing a weapon that now has become increasingly unstable and that threatens to detonate from within, writes business editor Ian Verrender. For decades, we have straddled a military and diplomatic relationship with America and a trade reliance with China.