Can Australia counter China's influence in the Pacific?

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How is the geopolitical rivalry between China and the West impacting global aid for the countries that need it most? While it looks like Western powers are just copying China's style to keep their influence in a new Cold War, could both sides actually be converging on a middle ground? With China running into debt repayment problems and Western nations trying to rely on hesitant private investors instead of public funds, what is the impact on real aid? How should Australia position itself in the Pacific to compete with Chinese influence?

Speaker bio:
Professor Shahar Hameiri is a political economist with diverse research interests, with a particular interest in the evolving nature of statehood and political agency. His work focuses on Asia and the Pacific. He has written on rising powers (specifically China), global health politics, security governance, statebuilding, non-traditional security, global and regional governance, and Australian development and foreign policy. He has been awarded an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship (2021-26) to examine emerging competition over international development financing projects in Asia and the Pacific.