One day after the US president used the term to describe Xi \u2013 moments after a historic meeting designed to reset the relationship between the US and China \u2013 Albanese was careful not to follow suit as he attended the latest Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit in San Francisco.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Vietnam\u2019s President Vo Van Thuong, left, and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese smile as US President Joe Biden arrives for an informal dialogue and working lunch at the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>AP<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cWe have different political systems from China as I have said consistently,\u201d Albanese said when asked if he agreed with Biden\u2019s description.<\/p>\n \u201cAustralia is a democracy, and China has a very different political system. They don\u2019t have democratic elections.\u201d<\/p>\n The comments come after Albanese spent a day with Xi, Biden and other global leaders at the summit, which is designed to bolster trade and co-operation between the 21 nations involved.<\/p>\n However, much of the focus this year centred on Wednesday\u2019s (Thursday AEDT) highly anticipated meeting between Biden and Xi after years of escalating tensions.<\/p>\n The four-hour meeting was described by Biden as one of the most \u201cconstructive and productive\u201d discussions he had had with his Chinese counterpart.<\/p>\n It also led to an important agreement to re-establish military-to-military communication between the two countries, which was cut off after then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi\u2019s contentious visit to Taiwan last year.<\/p>\n However, Biden risked derailing the progress he made after ending a press conference by describing Xi as a dictator \u2013 something China\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs slammed as \u201cextremely incorrect and irresponsible political manipulation\u201d.<\/p>\n The drama capped off what had otherwise been a typical global summit, albeit held against the backdrop of wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, and China\u2019s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific.<\/p>\n China\u2019s President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden walk in the gardens at the Filoli Estate in California.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>New York Times<\/cite><\/p>\n After arriving in San Francisco on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT), Albanese met Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella and announced the government would work with the company to explore the use of generative artificial intelligence technology in the public service.<\/p>\n \u201cThe government will conduct a six-month trial of Microsoft 365 Copilot, making Australia one of the first governments in the world to deploy generative AI service,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The prime minister also met with his Canadian counterpart, Justin Trudeau, and Californian governor Gavin Newsom and had his first-ever bilateral meeting with Thailand\u2019s PM, Srettha Thavisin.<\/p>\n He also sat alongside Biden for a roundtable meeting on climate change and later appeared on stage with the president and 12 other member nations to endorse agreements under the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, a strategy designed by the US, in part, to counter China\u2019s rise.<\/p>\n But Albanese has come under fire for taking the trip \u2013 his fourth in a month \u2013 at a time when there are pressing domestic issues at home, such as tensions over the Israel-Hamas war and the High Court\u2019s decision that indefinite immigration detention is unlawful.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n