Australia-China to Restart High-Level Political Dialogue After Leaders Meet

China's Premier Li Qiang (L) and Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese shake hands during the opening ceremony of the sixth China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai on Nov. 5, 2023. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)

Australia and China will restart high-level political dialogues and continue implementing bilateral trade after a three-year diplomatic freeze.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Nov. 7 in China, to discuss bilateral ties and regional issues.

The leaders announced the resumption of the Annual Leaders’ Meeting, four years after the last meeting when former Prime Minister Scott Morrison met Mr. Li in Bangkok, Thailand.

The annual dialogue was put on ice by the Chinese communist leadership after Mr. Morrison called for a probe into the origins of COVID-19, to which Beijing retaliated by also imposing trade bans on Australian exports.

While some sanctions, including those on coal, barley, hay have been removed, Mr. Albanese said he pushed for the removal of remaining trade impediments, adding that the “full resumption of free and unimpeded trade” was crucial.

According to a joint statement, both sides reaffirmed their support for the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, and agreed to pursue cooperation in agriculture, climate change, and education.

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Mr. Albanese announced his government would commit to its “one-China policy” although Taiwan’s chief representative in Australia warned last week that China was “not the most trustworthy partner” and that it would “weaponise trade to attack other economies.”

Since the economic dispute in 2020, Australia has continued to diversify its trade by establishing partnerships with India, Vietnam, and Indonesia to become less reliant on China.

First Visit by Australian PM to China For 7 Years

The Australian PM described the visit as “an important step in stabilising relations with China, our largest trading partner.”

“I am pleased to conclude a successful visit to China, the first by an Australian prime minister since 2016,” he said in a media statement.

“While there are differences between us, both Australia and China benefit from cooperation and dialogue.”

“I used this visit to advocate for Australia’s interests including on trade, consular, human rights and regional and global issues.”

He added that the improvement in trade relations would lead to “improved living standards, helped Australian businesses grow, and generated well-paid jobs for Australian workers” amid a cost-of-living crisis.

“I would hope that there’s a recognition that this was a point where the relationship moved forward, where dialogue occurred in a way that was respectful, where differences were able to be discussed in a way that didn’t define the whole relationship.”

“I’ve said consistently that we‘ll cooperate where we can with China, we’ll disagree where we must, but we will engage in our national interest.”

When asked about Beijing’s expansion in the Pacific region, including its recent move to build a stadium in Solomon Islands near Australia, the PM said he would “continue to have those discussions about the region.”

“One of the things about the Pacific Island Forum is that we have recognised in last year’s statement the importance of the Pacific family looking after our security interests of the region,” he told reporters.

“But the Pacific family is also made up of sovereign states, so we respect the fact that sovereign states have a right to make their decisions.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Li called Mr. Albanese a “handsome boy.”

“People were saying that we have a handsome boy coming from Australia,” Premier Li told reporters.