China, Australia restart trade ties, resume annual meetings

Tuesday saw the resumption of an annual leaders’ meeting between Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing. Albanese stated that the dialogue will continue as long as the trading partners’ relations remain stable.

Albanese is in China for the first time as an Australian leader in seven years, following the cancellation of once-yearly leader meetings due to a diplomatic dispute.

Sending a strong message that China was prepared to put the recent tensions behind it, President Xi Jinping stated on Monday that stable relations between Australia and China served each other’s interests and that both countries should increase cooperation.

China has removed trade restrictions on the majority of Australian exports that were put in place in 2020 in response to Australia’s request for a global inquiry into the cause of the COVID-19 pandemic.

China’s concerns about containment have been heightened by Australia’s security alliance with the United States and Britain in the Indo-Pacific, but one area of difference between the two nations is Beijing’s projection of power among Pacific island nations.

Xi had cautioned against “bloc politics” during his meeting with Albanese on Monday.

The nation was “ready to carry out more trilateral and multilateral cooperation with Australia to support South Pacific countries in enhancing development resilience, addressing climate change and other challenges” , said Xi.

(With agency inputs)