G20: Xi Jinping’s meetings with Australia’s Albanese, South Korea’s Yoon show US allies’ hope to reboot ‘complex’ ties
- Chinese President Xi Jinping, who earlier met US President Joe Biden, talked to Anthony Albanese, South Korea’s Yoon Suk-yeol on Tuesday
- Half-hour meeting between Xi and Albanese was first formal talks between leaders of two countries in six years; Xi said ties ‘worth cherishing’
Of particular note was the roughly 30-minute meeting between Xi and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, the first formal talks between the leaders of the two countries in six years amid a spate of quarrels.
Foreign policy observers suggested further steps by both sides following Tuesday’s talks would offer a clearer indication of whether a long-lasting thawing of the relationship is on the cards.
Observers have said the language used by the superpowers following that meeting was indicative of a mutual desire to turn down the temperature in their rivalry.
Xi told Albanese there was no “fundamental conflict of interest” between the two countries and emphasised the potential for economic cooperation, Chinese state media said after the meeting.