WITH the greatest respect to former foreign minister Bob Carr and others who characterise Joe Biden's cancellation of his Australian trip as a sign the US can't be trusted and is only going through the motions with the "quad" it's all very Seinfeld; "a show about nothing".
The same is also true, to a lesser extent, for panicked suggestions the debt ceiling crisis is about to crash the US economy and to plunge America - and the world - into recession.
This is a game that is played out in the US on an regular basis. It seems unlikely the Republicans would go so far as to push the world's richest nation into default.
That said, there have been periods in the past where the government has not been able to pay public servants and the like so the Democrats have to take the negotiations seriously.
The reality is that in every democratic country domestic politics trump foreign commitments. If the voters think you aren't there for them the path to electoral oblivion can be quite short.
Scott Morrison learnt this he went to Hawaii during the Black Summer bushfires. Even Anthony Albanese, who is riding on the crest of a wave of popularity, was criticised for being out of the country during the Lismore floods.
In hindsight he should probably have followed the example of Gough Whitlam who was in Europe when Cyclone Tracy struck in December 1975 and flew home almost immediately.
With America's next election now only 18 months away President Biden and his minders are very conscious of the optics. They are also know the Presidency is a powerful card to play during negotiations across the aisle.
There are, in short, compelling reasons for Mr Biden to return to Washington immediately after the G7. And, significantly, he and the other "quad" leaders will be able to meet on the side lines at Hiroshima.
While it's not the PR coup that Mr Albanese, whose administration has put a lot of effort into preparing for the first visit here by a US president since President Obama, was hoping for, he, Mr Biden, Prime Minister Kishida and Prime Minister Modi will talk.
This will happen against the backdrop of a significant thaw in Australia-China relations highlighted by the Trade Minister, Don Farrell's, recent successful visit to Beijing and the conciliatory tone adopted by the Chinese Ambassador Xiao Qian at his press conference in Canberra on Thursday.
The ambassador thanked Australia for its valuable contribution to the search for the 39 crew members of a Chinese fishing vessel whose ship is understood to have gone down about 5000 kilometres off the Western Australian coast.
"Our Australian colleagues already dispatched three airplanes to that area since yesterday (Wednesday)," he said.
Mr Xiao said that as of Thursday (yesterday) China would be resuming the importation of timber from Australia. This trade, then worth $1.6 billion a year, was suspended in 2020. Beijing cited "quarantine risks".
The resumption comes a month after Australia agreed to suspend its appeal to the WTO over punitive Chinese tariffs on Australian barley.
While Mr Xiao was critical of Aukus and the submarine deal, saying Australia was throwing money away given China "would never be a threat" he did not capitalise on the cancellation of the President's visit and the "quad" meeting.
He did say however that the individual "quad" should consider the value of their individual relationships with China.
While one swallow does not make a summer there is reason to hope this thaw, the result in part of Australia's participation in AUKUS and "the quad", will continue.
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