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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is completing his tour of Southeast Asia with a pledge to take Australia's relationship with China forward.
Mr Albanese was the first Australian leader in six years to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, but said he wasn't getting ahead of himself when it came to solving challenges in the relationship.
Mr Albanese said he was committed to continue taking steps with Mr Xi and the meeting was the first one.
"In today's globalised world the challenges can't just be dealt with nation states acting alone. We need to have cooperation," he told reporters in Bangkok.
"That is what we've seen the shoots of over the last week ... (and) I leave these meetings with optimism."
But Australia's criticism of North Korea - a close ally of China's - and questions about Taiwan's entry into a significant trading bloc could derail Mr Albanese's hope for better international relations.
China's $20 billion of sanctions on Australia, detention of Australian citizens and relationship with Russia continue to be points of tension.
On Friday he signalled Australia would be unlikely to support Taiwan's entry into the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
The CPTPP is a regional trade arrangement made up of 11 countries around the Pacific, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Japan.
Asked if he would like to see Taiwan join the agreement, Mr Albanese said it was "a relationship between nation states that are recognised".
Yet Taiwan's ministry of foreign affairs said the Australian government had since clarified that the stance on the nation's ability to join the partnership had not changed.
"(Australia) continues to welcome the entry of all economies that meet the high standard of the CPTPP, including Taiwan," spokesperson Joanne Ou said.
Mr Albanese told reporters on Saturday applications to join the trade group are dealt with by consensus of the nations already part of the agreement.
Mr Albanese also took part in a meeting called by US Vice President Kamala Harris to condemn North Korea's firing of a ballistic missile.
He joined leaders from, Canada, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea to call for the United Nations Security Council to have an emergency meeting on the matter.
"There is no place for the actions of the North Korean state. This is a rogue state that is endangering regional security," he said.
The prime minister talked with leaders from around the world and said Australia was being taken seriously because of his government's commitment on climate action.
"I've sought to ... send a message that Australia wants to engage constructively, to work with our partners in the region and indeed throughout the world," he said.
"I believe Australia has achieved some significant steps ... we have re-engaged."
But the highlight of his first summit season as prime minister wasn't progressing trade deals with Europe and India or joining leaders to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
It was the release of Australian economist Sean Turnell from a Myanmar prison where he'd been held for 650 days.
Professor Turnell was arrested in early 2021 after Myanmar's military junta seized power but was reunited with his family on Friday.
The prime minister reiterated his thanks to leaders of Southeast Asian nations who advocated on behalf of Australia for Prof Turnell's release.
"We have made a hard stance against the human rights abuses in Myanmar ... Australia will always stand up for our values," he said.
Mr Albanese has spent the past eight days at the ASEAN summit in Cambodia, the G20 in Bali and APEC in Bangkok and will depart for Australia on Saturday afternoon.
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Nick Kyrgios has finally run out of inspiration at the ATP Finals as he bowed out of the doubles alongside mate Thanasi Kokkinakis in familiar racquet-smashing fashion at the season-ending championship in Turin.
Australia's Special Ks had been hoping to earn another victory over Olympic champions Mate Pavic and Nikola Mektic to avoid elimination and barnstorm their way into the semi-finals in Turin on Friday evening.
But it was the Croats who won their 'grudge' rematch 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-4) to race unbeaten into the last-four, making up for their heated defeat at the Australian Open to the home pair.
And Kyrgios cut a picture of frustration as he couldn't replicate his magic of Wednesday night when he almost single-handedly turned the Special Ks' fortunes in the comeback win over Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek.
When the Aussies' one glimmer of hope came near the end of the second set, Kyrgios was so mad at missing a chance to earn their only break point that he hurled his racquet furiously into the court and got a code violation.
There was a bit of needle in the air at the Pala Alpitour arena again after the dramas of January when the Croats were less than impressed by going down to defeat at Melbourne Park amid a bear-pit atmosphere unashamedly stirred up by Kyrgios.
Pavic later described Kyrgios as "a clown and an idiot" while the Australian showman reported that the Croats' coach and trainer had challenged the Special Ks to a gymnasium fight after the match.
So there was evidently no love lost as Pavic, like Kyrgios a combustible character, went to war with his old adversary, and came out on top, roaring his delight on court afterwards following a remarkable display of serving from both pairs.
Ultimately, in a match of no breaks, it was Kokkinakis who proved the weak link again, his lone double fault and missed volley in the tiebreak costing the Ks the first set.
Serve again completely dominated in the second stanza as Kyrgios needed courtside physio treatment on his neck and upper back in what was to be his last match of a demanding year highlighted by his charge to the Wimbledon final.
Kokkinakis, though, will go on to join Australia's Davis Cup team for next week's finals in Malaga and may look back in some frustration at how he also disappointed in the second tiebreak too, as Mektic and Pavic earned the key mini-breaks off his deliveries to race into an unassailable 6-1 lead.
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will aim to complete his regional tour of Southeast Asia on a high note with his final day at the APEC summit.
The APEC forum brings together leaders from 21 member economies with interests in the Asia-Pacific region.
Members include the United States, Canada, China and Taiwan but the leaders of France, Saudi Arabia and Cambodia have been invited as guests.
But despite APEC's focus on improving free and open trade arrangements in the region, Mr Albanese appears unlikely to support Taiwan's entry into one of the world's largest trading blocs.
Asked if he would like to see Taiwan join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Mr Albanese said it was "a relationship between nation states that are recognised".
"Taiwan is represented here (at APEC) because it is represented here as an economy," he told reporters in Bangkok.
"We support the status quo on Taiwan and on the Taiwan Strait, we don't want to see any unilateral action which alters that status quo."
The CPTPP is a regional trade arrangement made up of 11 countries around the Pacific, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Japan.
As Mr Albanese was leaving a press conference, Taiwanese journalists attempted to ask him questions about Australia's stance which he did not answer.
Mr Albanese also took part in a meeting called by US Vice President Kamala Harris to condemn North Korea's firing of a ballistic missile.
Mr Albanese joined leaders from, Canada, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea to call for the United Nations Security Council to have an emergency meeting on the matter.
"This action does threaten our security, it does destabilise the region and this is precisely the reason why the UN Security Council was established," he said.
The prime minister hoped the final day of the summit would produce a Bangkok Statement on the circular economy and environmental co-operation.
"That will be an important message that we need to co-operate to deal with the challenge of climate change and the environmental issues that we all face," he said.
But he noted Australia was in high standing on the world stage because of its changed approach to climate change action.
"The entry fee for credibility in international forums is action on climate change," he said.
"We punch above our weight in international forums, when we are mature, when we're sensible and when we engage in diplomacy."
Mr Albanese has spent the past week at the ASEAN summit in Cambodia, the G20 in Bali and now APEC and will depart for Australia on Saturday afternoon.
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China's ban and Queensland's higher royalties for coal producers are having little impact on super profits as exports hit a record.
The state's coal industry is a clear winner from the global energy shock as the world looks for new supplies, according to data released by Queensland Treasury.
High prices stoked the value of exports to a record $79.7 billion for the year to end-September after already more than doubling during 2021/22.
China's informal ban on Australian coal and global decarbonisation efforts are not hurting Queensland's exports, the outlook report revealed.
"Australia is a very significant exporter," Treasury official Dennis Molloy said.
Importantly for Queensland's coal industry, demand for metallurgical coal used for steel making is more solid than for thermal coal for power generation.
"Queensland's key trading partners in the Asian region have been pivotal to achieving its position as the world's largest exporter of metallurgical coal."
He said future demand hinges on global steel production, particularly in China and India.
Although global production peaked almost 10 years ago, Australia's coal tonnage is only one per cent off that 2013 mark.
China was the top coal customer in 2020 before the ban, taking 55 million tonnes or more than a quarter of exports in the year to October 2020.
But the hole left by its exit from the market was filled by India, Japan and South Korea - together totalling almost 70 per cent of Queensland's 202.1 million tonnes of exports in the year to November 2021.
The International Energy Agency has said coal needs to bear most of the burden to get to net zero emissions.
But Treasury expects significant royalties to flow into the coffers through to 2050.
Nor does Treasury expect the state's new royalties to have much of a bite or make a significant impact on investment decisions, as high coal prices make more profits.
For high-quality hard coking coal, the new tiers of royalties are estimated to add less than $2 per tonne to those payable by producers.
For thermal coal, prices in the medium term are expected to average below $175 a tonne, which would mean no extra royalty would be due to taxpayers.
The state budget forecast the new regime to bring in an extra $1.2 billion over the next four years.
But most - around $765 million - was projected to be raked in during in the current financial year, after which coal prices begin to decline.
Any let up in China's coal ban, if recent signs of a diplomatic thaw extend to trade, could spark a sharp drop in the world price.
An end to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and sanctions would also see coal prices slump.
Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick will update forecasts in the upcoming mid-year fiscal and economic review.
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