Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with Chinese leader X\u00ed J\u00ecnp\u00edng \u4e60\u8fd1\u5e73 today in Beijing. Albanese is currently on a highly anticipated visit to China from November 4 to 7. He is the first Australian leader to visit the country since 2016 and his trip is a notable step toward stabilizing diplomatic ties after years of tensions.<\/p>\n
Xi and Albanese smiled and shook hands<\/a> at the start of their bilateral talks at the Great Hall of the People. Xi praised the Australian leader for working to stabilize ties with China since being elected to his position in May last year. It is the second time they have met face to face. They first met on the sidelines of a G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, in November 2022.<\/p>\n During their talks, Albanese raised the issue of Australian writer and democracy activist Y\u00e1ng H\u00e9ngj\u016bn \u6768\u6052\u5747, who has been behind bars in China since January 2019 on vague espionage charges after a closed-door trial, according to media reports<\/a> from\u00a0 journalists accompanying him in Beijing. Last week, Yang\u2019s family released a letter<\/a> pleading with Albanese to negotiate with Xi for his release.<\/p>\n When asked if he raised concern over China\u2019s alignment with Russia over the war in Ukraine, Albanese vaguely replied that \u201cthe conflict in the world was raised,\u201d including over Ukraine and in the Middle East. He also stressed the need for peace and security \u201cin our region.\u201d<\/p>\n Xi raised China\u2019s ambition to join a key regional trade pact, the CPTPP. The two also moved to resume an annual leader-level dialogue, which has been suspended for a number of years. Albanese invited Xi to visit Australia.<\/p>\n Albanese\u2019s trip coincides with the 50-year anniversary of Gough Whitlam’s iconic trip to China to visit M\u00e1o Z\u00e9d\u014dng \u6bdb\u6cfd\u4e1c in 1973, marking the first trip by an Australian prime minister after the establishment of diplomatic ties.<\/p>\n Earlier this morning, Albanese stopped by Beijing’s iconic Temple of Heaven and posed for pictures<\/a> at the circular Echo Wall, where Whitlam had also stood<\/a> in 1973. \u201cIn China we often say that when drinking water, we should not forget those who dug the well,\u201d Xi said. \u201cThe Chinese people will not forget Prime Minister Whitlam for digging the well for us.\u201d<\/p>\n Albanese also attended the opening ceremony of the sixth China International Import Expo (CIIE) on November 4. He delivered a speech<\/a> at the country\u2019s largest international trade show after the opening remarks of China\u2019s premier, L\u01d0 Qi\u00e1ng \u674e\u5f3a, saying that \u201cit is in the interests of Australia and China to have a relationship through dialogue and cooperation.\u201d<\/p>\n In the months leading up to the Xi-Albanese meeting, China had removed some of the punitive trade sanctions it placed on Australia, though it stopped short of lifting restrictions on lobster exports and wine tariffs imposed at the height of the trade war.<\/p>\n Xi reportedly flagged lobsters during the meeting, and Australian officials have signaled that Australian wine may soon return to the Chinese market.<\/p>\n \u201cI think there are promising signs,\u201d Albanese said at a press conference<\/a> prior to his meeting with Xi. \u201cWe have already seen a number of the impediments to trade between our two nations removed and an uplift already, a substantial uplift, in the trade between our two nations.\u201d<\/p>\n China is Australia\u2019s largest trading partner, particularly in purchases of Australian food and natural resources. It accounts for nearly a third<\/a> (32.2%) of Australia\u2019s trade, buying more Australian exports than the next three biggest markets combined<\/a>.<\/p>\n However, in 2020, simmering tensions between the two nations skyrocketed when Australia\u2019s then prime minister Scott Morrison called for an inquiry into the origins of the COVID pandemic. Beijing retaliated with punitive trade actions on a number of agricultural products, including wine, beef, and rock lobsters.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, China released Australian journalist Ch\u00e9ng L\u011bi \u6210\u857e, a former news anchor at Chinese state media television channel CGTN, after more than three years of imprisonment<\/a> in China on national security charges.<\/p>\n Prior to his trip to China, Albanese had visited the United States. U.S. President Joe Biden had warned the Australian leader to \u201ctrust, but verify\u201d anything Beijing told him during the trip.<\/p>\n When asked at the press conference if he could trust Xi before their meeting, Albanese said: \u201cWe have different political systems. But the engagement that I’ve had with China with President Xi [has] been positive. They have been constructive. He has never said anything to me that has not been done.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd that’s a positive way that you have to start off dealing with people. But we recognize, as well, that we come with different political systems, very different values arising from that and different histories,\u201d Albanese added.<\/p>\n Chinese state media has been publishing a number of editorials and other articles leading up to Albanese\u2019s visit. While most of them echoed the optimistic tones sounded by both leaders, they also mentioned the underlying geopolitical issues that may risk steps to improve ties.<\/p>\nA sign of warmer ties?<\/h3>\n
Improving strained ties<\/h3>\n
An eye on the U.S.<\/h3>\n