Exclusive | China’s Wang Yi invited to Australia as Beijing, Canberra ties thaw after prolonged frost

China’s foreign minister Wang Yi has been invited to visit Australia in the latter half of March to discuss unresolved issues
Trip would be another milestone in warming of relations during the tenure of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, following period of heightened tension

China-Australia relations

Kandy Wong

Published: 10:00am, 29 Feb 2024

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Australia has invited Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister, for a two-day visit in the second half of March. He is expected to discuss a range of thorny issues on the table after bilateral relations warmed last year, according to sources with knowledge of the matter.

The trip will take place as bilateral trade, often the smoothest segment of talks, has largely normalised following Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s China visit in November.

But other issues – the signing of a new science and technology agreement, the Aukus security alliance with the United States and Britain, and the sentencing of an Australian writer on espionage charges – are unlikely to see a speedy resolution.

“[Australian foreign minister] Penny Wong issued a formal invitation to Wang,” one source explained, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject.

“The invitation was the formal conclusion of discussions between the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and [the Chinese] embassy over a couple of weeks.”

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Wang is expected to spend one day in Canberra and another day in Sydney, according to another source.

The trip will follow the “two sessions”, China’s annual gathering of its top legislature and political advisory body, where Wang will deliver a press conference on China’s diplomacy.

The second source added that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has been pushing for a lifting of sanctions on Australian wine and lobsters during Wang’s visit. The two goods have been blocked from import into China since 2020.

In return, the second source said, China is pushing for Australia to sign a new Science and Technology Agreement. The agreement, which the source said has been held up by Canberra due to pressure from the United States, will be an “outstanding issue” for Wang’s visit.

The request comes at a delicate time, as the renewal of the 40-year-old US-China Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement faces hurdles. A six-month extension ended on Tuesday, with no announcement of additional time for negotiations.

[There are] enormous opportunities for joint scientific research that delivers benefits for both sides

James Laurenceson

At a press briefing on the day of expiration, a spokeswoman for China’s Foreign Ministry said the two countries were communicating on the subject – and continued to criticise Washington’s “small yard, high fence” strategy of strenuous tech controls.

“Of course, Aukus will see Australia tighten research cooperation with the US and UK, and shrink cooperation with China in technologies with clear military applications,” said James Laurenceson, director of the Australia-China Relations Institute at the University of Technology Sydney.

“But that still leaves enormous opportunities for joint scientific research that delivers benefits for both sides – renewable energy, adapting to climate change, medical advances and so on.”

He noted that Canberra is also “pragmatic enough” to recognise that Australia’s limited scale makes international collaboration “a necessity”, while cutting Australian scientists off from Chinese talent and resources “would be a massive own goal that Canberra wouldn’t want to kick”.

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A third source with knowledge of the matter said Premier Li Qiang could visit Australia in June or July.

DFAT told the Post that “any visits by senior officials of foreign governments will be announced at the appropriate time”.

The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet declined to comment on potential official visits and events until formal announcements are made.

A spokeswoman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs told a regular briefing on Thursday that it did not have any information to offer about a visit.

Albanese visited Shanghai and Beijing in November – the first visit from an Australian leader in seven years – cementing a turn towards warmer relations after a frosty period for both countries.

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DFAT data showed that China is Australia’s largest two-way trading partner, accounting for 26 per cent of the country’s goods and services trade in the 2022 and 2023 financial years.

China’s General Administration of Customs reported US$229.2 billion in total exports and imports between both countries for 2023, an increase of 4.1 per cent from a year earlier.

Australian coal, barley, cotton, beef and dairy products – all of which were under official and unofficial bans – have gradually returned to the Chinese market since last year. Wine and lobsters, however, remain sticking points.

Zhang, an Australian wine company owner who chose to give only their surname, said as a tariff review by the Chinese government is scheduled to complete in March, it would be better to wait and see whether Beijing will officially lift the heavy taxes – some of which carry a top rate of 218.4 per cent.

“So far we don’t see any changes on the ground regarding imports to the Chinese market,” Zhang added. “It’s still quiet.”

Live lobsters from Australia, still under an unofficial ban, have yet to return to Chinese tables.

“One changing opportunity in China since the Australian live lobster ban is the emergence of the frozen market,” said Andrew Ferguson, managing director at seafood provider Ferguson Australia.

“Frozen Australian lobster is allowed into China, and our work has seen the development of a premium packaged product that we provide to other parts of the world.”