Australian Premier meets with China’s Foreign Minister

CANBERRA: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese this week met with visiting China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi to strengthen relations and deepen mutual benefit between the two countries on Wednesday 20 March in Canberra, Australia.

Anthony Albanese asked Wang Yi, who is a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, to convey his sincere greetings to Chinese leaders. Albanese said that the Australian side is glad to see that in the past two years, Australia-China relations have returned to the right direction, with trade, investment and people-to-people exchanges reinvigorating, continuously releasing positive signals and achieving important breakthroughs.

The Australian highly expressed China’s achievements in development and poverty alleviation, and is willing to keep close high-level exchanges with China and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields.

Australia-China relations should not be defined by differences and disagreements, and the two sides should seek common interests whenever possible. Noting that the Australian Labor Party once made historic contributions to the establishment of diplomatic relations between Australia and China, he said the current Labor Party government will continue to make efforts to promote the constructive development of Australia-China relations. Albanese stressed that Australia has always pursued the one-China policy. It is the consensus of the two parties of Australia, and they will continue to adhere to it.

Wang Yi said that under the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries, the obstacles encountered in China-Australia relations have been overcome one by one and outstanding issues are being properly resolved, bringing tangible benefits to the two nations and injecting new impetus into the China-Australia comprehensive strategic partnership. Wang Yi also passed cordial greetings from the Chinese leaders to Albanese.

Since the current Australian Labor Party government came to power, China-Australia relations have achieved the second important transformation, which is fully in line with the fundamental and long-term interests of Australia and its people as well as the development trend of the current times. History will prove this decision correct.

Wang Yi said that since China-Australia relations have returned to the right track and clarified the direction forward, the two sides should move forward firmly, without hesitation, wavering or backpedalling, and work together to create a brighter future for bilateral relations.

The Chinese side is ready to work with the Australian side to take the 10th anniversary of President Xi Jinping’s successful state visit to Australia and the 10th anniversary of the establishment of China-Australia comprehensive strategic partnership as an opportunity to further strengthen high-level exchanges, resume the dialogue mechanism between the two countries, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields, manage and rise above differences with the attitude of mutual respect, and jointly build a more mature, stable and fruitful comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Australia.

On his visit to Australia, Wang Yi also held the seventh China-Australia Foreign and Strategic Dialogue with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, the Australia-China Parliamentary Friendship Group, Australian Leader of the Opposition Peter Dutton and Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs Simon Birmingham, and had discussions with personages from the Australian business and strategic communities and other sectors. He will also meet with former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating and Premier of New South Wales Christopher John Minns.