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Australia PM Anthony Albanese to be ‘direct’ with Xi Jinping over South China Sea in Beijing talks
- Albanese’s trip is aimed at mending fences with China after years of bilateral rows over trade and other issues
- He notes several positives ahead of the trip, including the release of Australian journalist Cheng Lei and the lifting of certain export curbs
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Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday he would not hesitate to raise contentious issues during his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week, as both sides aim to steady ties after years of diplomatic acrimony.
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Albanese will also hold talks with Premier Li Qiang when he travels to Beijing for three days from November 4, the first by an Australian leader since 2016.
Albanese, who took office last year, described the trip as an opportunity to “stabilise the relationship, where we cooperate wherever we can, we disagree where we have differences, and we’re open and honest about them and can talk those issues through”.
Canberra’s relationship with its largest trading partner nosedived after China imposed tariffs on Australian shipments for months in retaliation against the previous conservative government for seeking an independent investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.
Diplomatic exchanges have emerged from the deep freeze after Albanese’s Labor government took measures to patch up with the Asian giant. Since then, Beijing has scrapped restrictions on some Australian goods and resumed coal imports.
Bilateral trade between the countries stood at US$191 billion in 2022.
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Albanese said the visit “in itself is a positive” sign that the situation was on the mend, highlighting the release of Australian journalist Cheng Lei after three years in a Chinese prison and the lifting of curbs on major Australian exports.
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