Australia’s Penny Wong Meets Beijing’s Wang Yi Over Trade, Security and Democracy Issues During ASEAN Meetings

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong speaks during a press conference after a joint meeting with her French counterpart at Quai dOrsay in Paris, on Jan. 30, 2023. Stephane de Sakutin/AFP via Getty Images

Penny Wong, Australian Foreign Affairs Minister, met with Wang Yi, Director of the Chinese Communist Party Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, on July 13 and raised her concerns over various issues, including trade impediments, consular cases, human rights, and Hong Kong.

During the meeting, which took place on the margins of ASEAN-related meetings in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wong called for faster action on China’s unfair trade sanctions against Australia while raising her deep concerns over Hong Kong’s pursuit of overseas pro-democracy activists, including two currently residing in Australia.