Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne meets her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China, November 8, 2018.
Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said on Thursday that her country welcomes Chinese investment, following talks in Beijing with the Chinese government's top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi.
Wang said that China's development is not a threat to Australia but an opportunity.
U.S. President Donald Trump has put forward a long-time Republican Party figure as his pick for ambassador to Australia, the White House said, hoping to fill a key diplomatic post that has been vacant for two years.The nomination of Arthur B. Culvahouse, a lawyer and counsel to former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, will have to be confirmed by the Senate.Australia is a key U.S. ally in the strategically important Asia Pacific region where China is asserting greater influence, especially in the disputed South China Sea.Trump in February named then U.S. Pacific Commander Admiral Harry Harris as ambassador to Australia but then picked him for South Korea amid heightened tensions with North Korea over its nuclear and missile programs.In 2016, Culvahouse led vetting of Mike Pence as Republican Party nominee for vice president.In 1989, Reagan awarded Culvahouse the Presidential Citizens' Medal, the White House said in a statement on Monday. In 1992, then Secretary of Defense Cheney awarded him the Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service. Trump wary of sanctions effect on oil prices
Trump picks ex-counsel to Reagan as US envoy to Australia