Australia should embrace proposal, senator says

Penny Wong, the Opposition's foreign affairs spokeswoman, on Tuesday urged the Australian government to embrace China's Belt and Road Initiative in times of increasing protectionism and global uncertainty.

As she prepares to embark on a visit to both New Delhi and Beijing in an attempt to foster "greater bilateral cooperation" between Australia and emerging Asian economies, Wong, an Australian senator, said China's Belt and Road Initiative as something which would provide "valuable opportunities" for Australia.

"As trade is increasingly treated with disdain and protectionism rises, we must find better ways to work with (India and China) to ensure open trading systems remain in place so new technologies, automation and artificial intelligence benefit our citizens," she wrote in The Australian newspaper on Tuesday.

"China's Belt and Road Initiative provides valuable opportunities for bilateral and multilateral cooperation. These have to be realized case by case to ensure mutual benefits are delivered. Buzzwords such as agility and innovation are meaningless unless we put substance behind them."