Australia has come to a promising settlement with China to reopen discussions on key points together with commerce sanctions following Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s go to to Beijing.
Speaking after assembly with Chinese counterpart, Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday, Senator Wong mentioned the 2 international locations had taken an “important step” in the direction of a secure relationship.
Australia and China have agreed to start or restart dialogue on areas together with commerce, consular affairs, local weather change and defence, whereas help was additionally dedicated to 2 change initiatives – the Track 1.5 dialogue and the Australia-China CEO Roundtable.
The two international locations have been working in the direction of a “stable relationship”, Senator Wong mentioned.
“I reiterated my view that we can grow our bilateral relationship and uphold our national interests, if both countries navigate our differences wisely,” she mentioned.
“(China) agreed to a relationship based on mutual respect, equality, mutual benefit and navigating differences, in keeping with our comprehensive strategic partnership.
“I set out our position on issues of importance to Australians, including consular matters, trade blockages, human rights, international security and the global rules and norms that underpin our security and prosperity.”
The assembly was the primary between Australian and Chinese overseas ministers in 4 years as the 2 nations marked the fiftieth anniversary of diplomatic relations.
“We agreed to maintain high-level engagement and to commence or restart dialogue in areas including bilateral relations, consular affairs, trade and economic issues, climate change, defence, and regional and international issues,” Senator Wong mentioned.
The assembly could have given some hope to the households of detained Australian journalist Cheng Lei and author Yang Hengjun, as Australia pushed for consular entry to overseas residents in Chinese prisons.
Australia’s ambassador to China Graham Fletcher instructed News Corp that officers have been “protesting vigorously” to go to detained Australians after consular entry was blocked as a result of Covid coverage.
“At the moment because China is experiencing a (Covid) surge, it has unfortunately stopped regular access to all prisoners … for all countries,” he mentioned.
“China has learned that Australia has a sense of itself and a national interest.
“There are lots of things that Australia and China can work well together on … like climate change, renewables and health.”
