Advertisement
China-Australia relations: still ‘a lot to be done’ to reset ties, Beijing’s envoy says, urging caution on Taiwan
- China’s ambassador to Australia said ‘we have not yet come to the stage to discuss about how to solve’ the two sides’ political and trade issues
- He said Australia should be cautious on the Taiwan issue and not misinterpret the one-China policy – and did not rule out the use of force
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
20
Reutersin Sydney
China’s ambassador to Australia said that more needed to be done to reset relations between Canberra and Beijing and that the two nations were not at the stage of solving political and trade disputes.
Advertisement
Speaking to the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday, China’s ambassador, Xiao Qian, also said there had been no meeting between leaders from the two trading partners in recent years because Beijing believed a face-to-face meeting could worsen strained ties.
“It’s because we did not believe the meeting would help to improve the relationship and we were concerned the meeting could perhaps make things even more deteriorated,” he said.
China is Australia’s largest trading partner and the biggest customer for its iron ore.
Beijing imposed trade sanctions on Australian products ranging from coal to seafood and wine in response to policies and decisions such as Australia’s call for an investigation into the origins of Covid-19 and its 5G network ban on Huawei.
Australia and China’s foreign ministers met for the first time in three years last month on the sidelines of a G20 meeting in Bali, after the election of a Labor government.
Despite some contact between ministers, “we have not yet come to the stage to discuss about how to solve those specific issues, political issues, trade issues”, Xiao said on Wednesday.
Advertisement