Editorial | Beijing greeting offers hope on warming of ties with Canberra
- Congratulatory letter from Premier Li Keqiang to new PM Anthony Albanese provides an opportunity to safeguard a high-level channel of bilateral communication after years of frosty relations
China and Australia never brushed over their differences when they upgraded the bilateral relationship to a “comprehensive strategic partnership” eight years ago. They undertook to manage them.
You would not know it from a freeze on top-level contact between them that lasted more than two years, after a falling out over issues seen to damage Beijing’s interests.
A change of government after the recent Australian election has provided an opening for a circuit breaker to end the stalemate, even if the new one, when in opposition, ruled out a major change, which prevented it becoming a campaign issue.
China appears to have acknowledged this with a congratulatory letter from Premier Li Keqiang to newly elected Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, in which he said it was in the interests of both countries to have “sound and stable relations”.
It is only one of many such messages from foreign governments, but the one that attracted most attention in Australia.
02:20
Australia’s new PM Albanese vows to rebuild unity and trust after Labor Party election win
It recalled it was Albanese’s now ruling Labor Party that established diplomatic ties with Beijing in the 1970s. China has since become Australia’s biggest trading partner, but more recent events do not reflect the optimism of those days.