A photo taken on January 2, 2025 shows the letters AI for Artificial Intelligence on a laptop screen (R) next to the logo of the Chat AI application on a smartphone screen in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany. Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP via Getty Images
The treasurer will meet with Japanese investors as he tries to sell Australia as an ideal economic partner for other middle-power countries amid increasing global uncertainty.
Jim Chalmers will spend time with some of Japan’s wealthiest and most influential individuals in the coming week to tout Australia as an artificial intelligence leader and market the country as a renewable energy hub.
Australia’s superannuation system, worth $4.8 trillion, will also be promoted as a pool of capital to encourage foreign investment.
Chalmers’ trip comes just weeks after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese used a United Nations address to declare the post-World War II international order no longer fit for purpose.
Albanese argued assumptions underpinning the global system since the end of the Cold War were being undermined, forcing Australia to forge new partnerships as competition between China and the United States changed the Indo-Pacific.
The treasurer pointed to the shared challenges for Australia and Japan, including high energy prices driving up inflation and bond yields putting pressure on government budgets.
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“Whether it’s in critical minerals, energy, AI or industrial decarbonisation, Australia has a lot to offer and a lot to gain from more trade, more investment, and closer economic ties to Japan,” Chalmers said.
The whirlwind trip, with more than 20 meetings in 48 hours, comes at a crucial time in Japan and Australia’s trade relationship.
Japan, as the primary importer of Australian gas, has been shaken by Labor’s domestic gas reservation policy.
The plan was modified to take effect from 2028 and will require liquefied natural gas shippers to reserve up to 20 percent of their export volumes for domestic customers.
The treasurer’s trip also follows the so-called “melon-gate” incident—a faux pas on the prime minister’s part in which he referred to melons gifted by his Japanese counterpart Sanae Takaichi while gesturing with his hands in front of his chest.
While the opposition demanded Albanese apologise for the gaffe, the Japanese government downplayed the incident and the two leaders posed for a photo together at the U.N. meeting in New York in September.
Chalmers will also travel to Thailand later in October to meet with G20 finance partners, and to Hong Kong, where he will hold talks with Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation counterparts.
By Lucinda Garbutt-Young
