Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit Australia during a “very successful” meeting in Beijing.
Mr Albanese is the first Australian leader to visit mainland China in seven years following years of ongoing tensions, which resulted in Beijing slapping bans and tariffs on a range of Australian imports.
The summit followed 18 months of efforts to stabilise the relationship between both countries.
Mr Xi greeted Mr Albanese with a handshake at the start of the bilateral talks and credited the prime minister for working to stabilise ties since being elected.
An elated Mr Albanese said the discussion with Mr Xi was “one of goodwill, where we spoke about our common interests going forward”.
“Both of us certainly agree that we shouldn’t be defined by our differences, recognise that they are there, but also recognise the mutual benefit that we have,” he said.
The prime minister said there was high level discussion about trade and the global economy, with Mr Xi expressing a positive outlook on China’s future growth.
He also described the conversation as full of positive anecdotes — from Tasmanian devils and the pandas at Adelaide Zoo to the merits of Australia’s wine over New Zealand’s.
On points of tension, Mr Albanese said he raised the plight of detained Australian writer Yang Hengjun — although he wouldn’t give any indication about prospects of his release — and human rights issues within China.
In response to a question about whether he raised China’s support of Russia in its war on Ukraine, Mr Albanese said they discussed the impact of “conflict in the world”, including Ukraine and the Middle East.
He said the president raised China’s application to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) but didn’t explicitly ask for Australia’s support.
“He asserted China’s wish to join the CPTPP just as part of a general issue about global trade and global economic engagement,” Mr Albanese said.
Mr Xi said his country was seeking to advance “harmonious” cooperation to achieve mutual benefit.
“With joint efforts of both sides we’ve been resuming our exchanges in various views and worked out some problems,” Mr Xi said.
“Now the China-Australia relationship has embarked on the right path of improvement and development.”
Before their meeting, Mr Albanese said the occasion was “indeed a historic time for me”.
“[Since meeting a year ago] the progress we have made in advancing our relationship over that time has been unquestionably very positive,” Mr Albanese said
“I believe that we can all benefit from the greater understanding that comes from high-level dialogue and people-to-people links and that a strong relationship between our two countries will be beneficial into the future.
“Where differences arise, it’s important that we have communication.”
This is the second time the prime minister has formally met with Mr Xi, after the two leaders met on the sidelines of the G20 in Bali a year ago.
Mr Xi also paid tribute to Gough Whitlam, for his role in establishing official diplomatic relations between China and Australia 50 years ago.
Mr Albanese’s trip coincides with the anniversary of the former Labor prime minister’s visit to China.
“In China, we often say when drinking water we should not forget those who dug the well,” President Xi said.
“The Chinese people will not forget prime minister Whitlam for digging the well for us.”
Albanese stops short of saying he trusts Xi
The Prime Minister first met with the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, Zhao Leji, who said the two countries are “at a new starting point”.
“China is ready to work with Australia to improve, maintain and develop our relations, to enhance mutual trust, strengthen exchanges, expand cooperation, consolidate the friendship,” he said.
“So as to deliver greater benefits to our two countries and peoples.”
Mr Albanese was joined by Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Australia’s Ambassador to China, Graham Fletcher and they both accompanied him during his meeting with Mr Xi.
Earlier on Monday, Mr Albanese spruiked the benefits of growing trade with Beijing, and further positive engagement between the two countries.
But he stopped short of saying he completely trusted Mr Xi.
“We have different political systems, but the engagement that I’ve had with China or with President Xi had been positive, they have been constructive,” Mr Albanese said.
“[President Xi] has never said anything to me that has not been done.
“We deal with each other at face value, and we deal with each other representing — my job is to represent Australia’s national interests, he is the leader of a different nation with different interests.”
Mr Albanese also reiterated Australia’s support for maintaining the status quo on Taiwan, which Beijing considers a province of China and hasn’t ruled out using force to seize it.
Shadow Foreign Minister Simon Birmingham said the test for the prime minister would be to hold the line on tough issues.
“This is a real test of strength and substance for Anthony Albanese. He needs to demonstrate strength and substance ahead of ceremonial symbolism,” he said.
“We want to see the best possible relationship between Australia and China, but it must be an honest one, it must be a forthright one and we must be clear in terms of our expectations.”
Wong and Albanese retrace former PM’s footsteps
On Monday morning, Mr Albanese and Ms Wong toured Beijing’s Temple of Heaven, retracing Whitlam’s footsteps.
“The history of [former] prime minister Whitlam being here reminds us that whoever is in these jobs, it’s incumbent upon us to seek to navigate this relationship wisely,” Ms Wong said before she met with Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
“That’s what we’re here to do.”
Ms Wong met with her Chinese counterpart earlier on Monday over a private lunch.
A government account of the meeting said they discussed the progress made so far to stabilise the relationship.
They also discussed consular issues, a likely reference to detained Australian writer Yang Hengjun, who is currently suffering from poor health after nearly five years in a Chinese jail.