Washington ¨C U.S. President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signed a critical minerals agreement aimed at countering China on Monday 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 U.S. 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 U.S. president expressed ire about past criticism of him by Australian Ambassador to the U.S. Kevin Rudd, a former prime minister. Rudd in 2020 called Trump ¡°the most destructive president in history,¡± later deleting the comment from social media.
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