SYDNEY (Reuters) – The Biden administration has informed China that normalizing relations with Australia is a prerequisite for Washington to take substantial steps to enhance relations with Beijing, a senior U.S. official mentioned on Tuesday.

In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper, US President Kurt Campbell’s Indo-Pacific coordinator mentioned China’s “financial coercion” on Australia was raised at each assembly between US officers and Chinese language and “might be highlighted in interactions in Anchorage later this week.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet with senior Chinese language diplomat Yang Jiechi and State Councilor Wang Yi in Alaska on March 18, the 2 nations’ first high-level in-person contact below the Biden administration.

“Now we have made it clear that america just isn’t ready to enhance its relationship in a bilateral and separate context when an in depth and expensive ally is subjected to some type of financial coercion,” Campbell informed the Sydney Morning Herald in an interview printed Tuesday.

Campbell mentioned Biden informed Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison “that we’re collectively on this level” on the Quad leaders’ group assembly, which additionally included Japan and India, on Friday.

“We’re absolutely conscious of what’s taking place and we’re not able to take substantial steps to enhance relations till these insurance policies are addressed and a extra regular interplay between Canberra and Beijing is established,” he mentioned. Campbell mentioned.

Tensions between Australia and China have been excessive over the previous yr after Canberra known as for a global investigation into the supply of the COVID-19 pandemic and Beijing responded with commerce retaliation over coal , wine, barley, stay seafood, Australian beef and timber.

Campbell informed the newspaper that it was not solely Australia that had been the goal of “these undeclared measures”, but additionally the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan and Japan.

(Reporting by Kirsty Needham; Enhancing by Michael Perry)