Albanese was speaking at the opening of the China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, the first day of a high-level state visit to the country’s biggest trading partner.
“Constructive economic cooperation between countries helps to build relations (…), therefore, the government led by me will continue to cooperate constructively with China,” the prime minister said.
The Australian Prime Minister will be in China for four days and will visit Shanghai and Beijing.
It is the first such visit by an Australian leader in seven years as the two countries try to patch up relations after a diplomatic row that has affected billions of dollars (euro) in trade.
Albanese’s administration has sought closer ties with China, but has also resisted Beijing’s growing influence in the Pacific.
On Sunday, Albanese stressed that the development of the Asia-Pacific region is “the lens through which we see much of the future”, adding that the relationship between the two countries is a very important part of this process.
He was pleased that the relationship between Beijing and Canberra is more mature, and it is strengthened by the economic complementarity of the two countries.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said that during the visit, the Australian Prime Minister will meet with leaders in Beijing and discuss bilateral, international and regional issues in detail.
“A healthy and stable relationship between China and Australia is in the core interests of both countries and peoples,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin.
This communication is a marked change from three years ago, when bilateral relations were severely frozen.
In 2020, China imposed tariffs on key Australian exports such as barley, beef and wine, demonstrating its economic principles in a bitter row with Australia’s former conservative government.
It has also suspended imports of some of Australia’s most important raw materials, including coal, curbing billions of dollars’ worth of trade.
China has been outraged by Australian laws banning telecoms equipment giant Huawei from 5G contracts and calls for an independent investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many of these trade barriers have been slowly removed since the election of a less confrontational centre-left government in Australia last May.
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2024-10-04 10:09:39
