Prime Minister Anthony Albanese would like to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping when he attends a number of international summits later this week.
Key points:
- The prime minister will attend four global and regional meetings in the coming days
- Mr Albanese said a meeting with Mr Xi would be “a positive thing”
- In a call with Penny Wong, China’s foreign minister said both countries should “jointly make positive contributions” to global challenges
Mr Albanese will head off to a series of summits on Friday in Cambodia, Indonesia and Thailand.
He said he would like to speak with Mr Xi, who will be at the G20 summit in Bali as well as APEC in Thailand.
Analysts believe a possible meeting between the two leaders may take place on the sidelines of next week’s summit.
“I’ve made it very clear that dialogue is a good thing and so if a meeting is arranged with Xi then that would be a positive thing,” Mr Albanese told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday.
“We are organising a range of meetings but they haven’t been finalised and locked in.
“We’ll make an announcement if and when meetings with various leaders are locked in.”
The prime minister will attend four global and regional meetings, including the ASEAN-Australia, East Asia, G20 and APEC summits.
He will also address the Business 20 summit, where chief executives, investors and senior executives will meet prior to the G20 leaders’ gathering.
“My role at these summits will be one of advocacy for not only Australians, but also for those of our Pacific neighbours who face many of the same pressures that we do,” Mr Albanese said.
“At each summit I will emphasise Australia’s commitment to the global transition to net zero, and our vision for a stable, peaceful, resilient and prosperous region.”
It has been six years since an Australian prime minister met with Mr Xi.
Mr Xi is also likely to have his first face-to-face meeting with US President Joe Biden at the summit, as the superpowers contend with deteriorating ties over a range of issues.
China remains a fraught issue, with politicians regularly sounding fears over national security and Beijing’s growing influence in neighbouring Pacific Island countries.
Beijing has also criticised Australia’s nuclear submarine pact with the United States and the UK, and regularly attacks the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, an influential government-funded think tank that has produced leading research on alleged human rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang region.
Foreign minsters discuss rebuilding relations
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Penny Wong and her Chinese counterpart discussed the “rebuilding of mutual trust” during a phone conversation that revealed signs of easing tensions after years of difficult ties between the countries.
The call between the foreign ministers comes a week before Mr Albanese and Mr Xi attend the G20 summit.
Australia and China maintained virtually no high-level communication during the COVID pandemic, when Beijing slapped a trade embargo on billions of dollars worth of Australian goods in retaliation for Canberra urging an independent probe into the origins of the virus.
China has previously demanded Australia address its grievances as a precondition to improving ties, with Beijing’s ambassador quoting Foreign Minister Wang Yi as saying “a reset requires concrete actions”.
But, Mr Wang has met Senator Wong twice this year — an indication that ties are thawing gradually since Labor took power in May.
Mr Wang said both countries should work to rebuild trust and put their relationship back on the right track.
“The easing and improvement of China-Australia relations serves the fundamental interests of both sides,” Mr Wang said, according to a Chinese foreign ministry readout of Tuesday’s call.
Both countries should “promote the rebuilding of mutual trust … gradually address their legitimate concerns and jointly make positive contributions to addressing current global challenges”, Mr Wang added.
A Chinese government readout said efforts from both sides have led to a more positive relationship.
Senator Wong said positive changes had taken place in Australia-China relations through unremitting efforts, according to Chinese state media.
Comment has been sought from the Australian government.
ABC/Wires