WASHINGTON, Oct 21 — US President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signed a critical minerals agreement aimed at countering China yesterday at a meeting marked by Trump's jab at Australia's envoy to the United States over past criticism.
China loomed large at the first White House summit between Trump and Albanese, with the US president also backing a strategic nuclear-powered submarine deal with Australia to bolster security in the Indo-Pacific.
While Trump and Albanese greeted each other warmly, the US president expressed ire about past criticism of him by Australia's US ambassador Kevin Rudd, a former prime minister. Rudd in 2020 called Trump "the most destructive president in history", later deleting the comment from social media.
Trump said he was not aware of the critical comments and asked where the envoy was now. Upon seeing him across the table, Trump said, "I don't like you either, and I probably never will."
The visit otherwise appeared to go smoothly, with Albanese and Trump signing a minerals deal that Trump said had been negotiated in recent months. Albanese described it as an US$8.5 billion pipeline (RM36.5 million) "that we have ready to go".
A copy of the agreement released by both governments said the two countries will each invest US$1 billion (about RM4.3 million) over the next six months into mining and processing projects as well as set a minimum price floor for critical minerals, a move that Western miners have long sought.
