Prime Minister Scott Morrison has held his first in-person talk with President Joe Biden on the sidelines of a landmark G7 summit aimed at preparing the world against future pandemics.
Mr Morrison sat down with Mr Biden and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a 45-minute meeting where, unlike similar G7 talks, no video cameras were allowed.
Speaking following the meeting this morning, the PM said the trio spoke "at length" about the Indo-Pacific region and the issues that impact all three nations there.
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"It was a meeting of great friends and allies who share a view on the world. It was a great opportunity for my first meeting, of course, with the president," Mr Morrison said.
"I've known Boris for many years. There was a very easy understanding amongst the three of us."
Nine's political editor Chris Uhlmann said everything spoken about in the meeting was "code" for discussing China.
"It is one of the reasons that President Joe Biden is pushing so hard at this meeting and the meetings that he's had with G7 leaders – all of it is about what kind of language they are going to use around China and its aggression in the Indo-Pacific," Uhlmann said.
"This entire meeting is all about China and that is front and centre in the Prime Minister's mind when he had the meeting."
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Uhlmann said much of the meeting's purpose was to strengthen long-held alliances with the United States and the United Kingdom that have existed since the Second World War.
"Joe Biden has made it clear that he wants to build the alliances back again and he's also made it clear that what concerns him most is the rise of China and the strategic threat that it poses through the United States in the Indo-Pacific," Uhlmann said.
"And that is really what this G7 is all about in the end. It is whether or not these western democracies can get their act together, can speak with one voice, and can help to shape the 21st century because if we don't do it, then China and Russia will."
Climate change at the G7
Mr Morrison has used Australia's guest status at the summit to sign several deals relating to support for using technological innovations to fight climate change.
But he said the US and UK, at least, had not pushed him this weekend to announce a more ambitious medium-term emissions reduction goal, as the US did at a virtual climate summit hosted by Mr Biden earlier this year.
"Those weren't the subject of our discussions this afternoon," Mr Morrison said.
"But they are the subject of tomorrow's sessions at the G7 Plus.
"And we look forward to participating in those and setting out once again, Australia's position and our performance and our achievement in reducing emissions."
The Prime Minister late on Sunday announced the Australia-Germany Hydrogen Accord — worth up to $50 million and €50 million ($78.5 million) respectively.
"Our partnership with Germany will accelerate the development of an Australian hydrogen industry and create new jobs," Mr Morrison said, adding that Germany had significant hydrogen expertise and plans to import the fuel in the future.
"Our ambition is to produce the cheapest clean hydrogen in the world, which will transform transport, mining, resources and manufacturing at home and overseas."
Mr Morrison's office also revealed less specific support from Japan for "supporting regional partners in their pragmatic and clean energy transitions in various forms", taking in a much broader range of action, including steel and iron-ore production.
"We, together with their partners, will coordinate approaches wherever possible on support for clean, pragmatic and realistic energy transitions in the region, including for developing countries, through finance, capacity building, technology development and deployment support, and knowledge sharing," Mr Morrison said, in a statement.
To this end, Japan and Australia commit to jointly support initiatives that will help drive the transitions to net-zero emissions.
"We take on to increase our joint focus on lower emissions LNG production, transport and use; clean fuel ammonia, clean hydrogen and derivatives produced from renewable energy or from fossil fuels with substantial carbon capture, utilisation and storage; carbon capture utilisation and storage; carbon recycling; and low emissions steel and iron ore," the statement read.
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