JAKARTA, Indonesia: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed on Thursday he would visit China later this year as Canberra seeks to stabilize its relationship with Beijing.
After years of conflict over political and economic issues, including Chinese penalties on Australian goods, the declaration was made on the sidelines of a Southeast Asia meeting in Indonesia.
“I have confirmed the invitation from President Xi (Jinping). That I will accept the invitation and visit China later this year at a mutually acceptable time,” the Albanian told reporters after meeting Chinese Premier Li Qiang for talks.
The trip would be the first visit by an Australian prime minister to China since 2016.
The Albanian thanked Xi for the invitation and said his talks with Li had been “constructive” and “positive”, adding that the two countries needed more dialogue to improve relations.
“It was an important meeting. I told Premier Li that we will continue to cooperate where we can, disagree where we must, and engage in our national interest,” he said.
Last November, the Albanians met with Xi on the sidelines of the G20 summit in the Indonesian resort of Bali.
Australia sent a delegation of industry, government, academia, media and arts representatives to Beijing on Thursday for dialogue with its Chinese counterparts.
The dialogue was halted in 2020 and its resumption is the latest sign of a thaw.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said last week that the discussions show “another step towards increasing bilateral engagement and stabilizing our relationship with China”.
China has been angered by Australia’s legislation against overseas influence operations, Huawei’s ban on 5G contracts and its call for an independent investigation into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic.
But relations appear to have warmed since the centre-left government in Canberra adopted a less confrontational approach to China following the Albanians’ election victory last year.
But problems remain in the relationship.
Australia last month expressed “deep concern” over the “ongoing delays” in the case of an Australian academic jailed in China on espionage charges.
Chinese-Australian Yang Jun has been imprisoned since 2019 and said in a note shared with friends and family last month that he feared he would die in prison if he did not receive medical attention.
Beijing said it was handling his case properly and that it was a “law-ruled country”.
