Anthony Albanese left for China two days ago. If you relied solely on some parts of the Australian media, you’d think he was handing over the silverware and snuggling up with the People’s Liberation Army.

Even the ABC has gone on about the “length” of the visit etc. (five whole days). Our China columnist Fred Zhang noted that a Sydney Morning Herald headline took the panic further: “As China prepares to invade Taiwan, a reality check: sitting on the sidelines won’t help us.” The piece noted the visit is “close” to the 98th anniversary of the PLA. The 98th. Not the 100th, or the 95th. It is too silly, and would be laughable if it wasn’t so serious.

The delegation travelling with Albanese gives us a hint at the depth and scope of the relationship. Curated by those life-long lefties at the Business Council of Australia, the troupe includes Fortescue’s Andrew Forrest, Macquarie’s chief executive Shemara Wikramanayake and leaders from ANZ, BHP and Rio Tinto.

Despite the backwash from the COVID-19 pandemic, China is still Australia’s largest trading partner. We presently educate 160,000 Chinese students, more than any other nation, and 650,000 people of Chinese origin live here.

We are connected.

All of the China-phobic fussing obscures the clear-eyed look we must take at our alliances amidst the geopolitical chaos. You can find that in Gareth Evans’ speech Abandoning our fears: how Australia should respond to US-China regional confrontation.

Back at home, the ripples from Jillian Segal’s report on antisemitism continue. Writing on the morning after the report’s release, Greg Barns made the dangers clear: “You can see Segal’s real agenda. It is to close down strident, but legitimate, criticism of Israel and its policies through a variety of mechanisms.”

Make sure you didn’t miss George Browning’s moving report on the award-winning film, No Other Land, which documents the relentless push of Israeli bulldozers and the violence of illegal settlers to force Palestinians off their land.

Until next week.