December 21, 2022China, Australia ministers meet as trading partners seek to restore ties
BEIJING/SYDNEY,
Dec 21 (Reuters) - Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong met her
Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, in Beijing on Wednesday, following
messages between their leaders, as the major trading partners seek to
stabilise and reset frosty diplomatic relations.
Ties
between Australia and its top trading partner have deteriorated in
recent years, with China imposing sanctions on Australian exports after
Canberra called for an international inquiry into the origins of the
novel coronavirus.
Wong's visit is the first by an Australian minister since 2019 and the first formal talks in Beijing since 2018.
"We
can grow our bilateral relationship and uphold both our national
interests if both countries navigate our differences wisely," she said
at the beginning of the meeting.
They
discussed trade blockages, human rights, two detained Australians, as
well as global rules and norms that underpin security and prosperity,
Wong told a news conference after the talks.
"We
have different views about how our political system should operate and
we have different interests but we need to seek to manage those
differences," she said.
Wong said she had suggested a "more structured dialogue" including meetings of trade and economic ministers.
A
joint outcomes statement released by Australia said the two sides
agreed to "commence or restart dialogue" on trade and economic issues,
climate change, defence and regional and international issues.
"We
should enhance understanding through contact and find solutions
acceptable to each other through consultation," Wang Yi told Wong.
The
two nations' prime ministers used to hold annual meetings under a
"comprehensive strategic partnership", before the diplomatic dispute
halted even phone calls between ministers.
'NO GRIEVANCES'
Wang
told his counterpart that China and Australia had no fundamental
conflicts of interest and they should use the 50th anniversary of ties
to reorganise and restart relations, China's foreign ministry said.
"China
and Australia have no historical grievances and no fundamental
conflicts of interest, and should and can become partners in mutual
need," Wang said during their meeting, according to the ministry's
statement.
Both
sides should respect each other's sovereignty and political systems,
avoid interfering in their internal affairs, and treat each other as
equals, Wang said.
China
and Australia must maintain the stability of policies, and "stop
flipping pancakes," Wang told Wong, alluding to a Chinese folk saying
that policies should not keep changing.
Their
meeting followed a message from China's President Xi Jinping earlier in
the day to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese promising China
would work to promote a comprehensive strategic partnership, state media
reported.
Albanese thanked Xi for a telegram commemorating the 50th anniversary of ties.
"It
is important that we deliver better relations with our major trading
partner in the future," Albanese told a news conference in Sydney.
Before
meeting Wang, Wong addressed staff at the Australian embassy via a
video link from the Diaoyutai state guesthouse, where she stayed on her
overnight visit as part of a so-called closed loop system designed to
isolate her and her entourage amid China's COVID-19 outbreak.
A
meeting between Albanese and Xi on the sidelines of a G20 summit in
Indonesia last month signalled a thaw in ties, although China's trade
sanctions estimated to be worth A$20 billion remain in place.
Wong
said she had raised the cases of two Australians detained in Beijing,
broadcaster Cheng Lei and writer Yang Henjun, both awaiting verdicts in
closed-door national security trials, with Australia advocating for them
to have consular access, and to be "reunited with their families as
soon as possible".
Reporting
by Martin Pollard and Ryan Woo in Beijing, Kirsty Needham and Lewis
Jackson in Sydney; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman, Christian
Schmollinger, Toby Chopra and Tomasz Janowski