Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanage, who visited China, met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and announced that he would resume annual talks between the two prime ministers, which had been suspended since 2016.
According to the Australian Prime Minister’s Office, Prime Minister Albany met with Prime Minister Li at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on the morning of the 7th. After the meeting, Premier Li officially announced the resumption of annual talks between the Australian and Chinese premiers.
Prime Minister Li said, “China will work with Australia to further strengthen communication, dialogue and trust, expand practical cooperation, and appropriately manage each other’s differences to achieve stable and sustainable growth of the China-Australia comprehensive strategic partnership that brings more benefits to the people of both countries.” “We are ready to make it happen,” he said.
“It is a great pleasure to come to your capital, Beijing, for the annual leaders’ meeting,” said Prime Minister Albanage, adding, “And the fact that these meetings will continue is very important to our relationship.”
“The proximity, economic complementarity and close people-to-people ties of our two countries make them important partners now and in the future,” he said. “For this reason, the full resumption of free and unhindered trade between the two countries is very important.”
“Where there is geopolitical competition, we all need to manage it carefully through dialogue and understanding,” he said. “Australia and China are countries with different histories, political systems and values. It is not about our differences, but how we can resolve these issues.” “It will be defined depending on whether we can resolve it,” he added.
Prime Minister Albany arrived in Shanghai, China on the evening of the 4th, and began his four-day visit to China with a speech at the 6th International Import Expo held in Shanghai on the 5th.
At a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping the day before, he said, “Australia is interested in the continued stable growth of the Chinese economy and continued exchanges with other countries in the region.” He also said, “A strong relationship between the two countries is beneficial for the future,” and “It is important to communicate if there are differences.”
China is considered Australia’s largest trading partner, and the two countries have maintained a close economic relationship. However, relations deteriorated in 2018 when Australia, in line with the United States’ request, excluded China’s Huawei from participating in the 5G mobile communications (5G) business and called for support for an international investigation into the origin of COVID-19 in 2020.
China, in response, took economic retaliation by imposing retaliatory tariffs on Australian coal, beef, and wine, and the conflict between the two countries reached its peak.
The Labor Party government was inaugurated in Australia in May last year, the leaders of the two countries met at the G20 summit in November last year, and high-level talks resumed. As China lifted high retaliatory tariffs on Australia, the two countries experienced a thaw in the economic sector. I got into the mood.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.