Australia invites China's Wang Yi to visit next month in latest sign of thawing relations

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has been invited to Australia for a two-day visit in the second half of March, the South China Morning Post reported, citing unidentified people with knowledge of the matter.

According to the report, citing a source, he will address various thorny issues on the table, following the recent improvement in bilateral relations. The trip coincides with the normalisation of bilateral trade, typically the least problematic aspect of negotiations, subsequent to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s visit to China in November.

However, several unresolved matters, including the negotiation of a new science and technology agreement, the Aukus security pact with the United States and Britain, and the legal proceedings involving an Australian writer accused of espionage, are not expected to be swiftly resolved.

“Foreign Minister Penny Wong extended a formal invitation to Wang,” South China Morning Post quoted a source, who preferred anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, as saying.

“The invitation was the formal conclusion of discussions between the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and [the Chinese] embassy over a couple of weeks,” the source added.

According to the report, citing another source, Wang plans to allocate one day each for visits to Canberra and Sydney. This travel schedule coincides with the “two sessions,” China’s annual assembly of its highest legislative and political advisory bodies, during which Wang will hold a press briefing on China’s diplomatic efforts.

Additionally, the second source revealed that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has been advocating for the removal of sanctions on Australian wine and lobsters during Wang’s trip. These sanctions have prohibited the import of these goods into China since 2020.

In return, the second source said, China is pushing for Australia to sign a new Science and Technology Agreement. The agreement, which the source said has been held up by Canberra due to pressure from the United States, will be an “outstanding issue” for Wang’s visit.

The request comes at a delicate time, as the renewal of the 40-year-old US-China Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement faces hurdles. A six-month extension ended on Tuesday, with no announcement of additional time for negotiations.

At a press briefing on the day of expiration, a spokeswoman for China’s Foreign Ministry said the two countries were communicating on the subject – and continued to criticise Washington’s “small yard, high fence” strategy of strenuous tech controls.

“Of course, Aukus will see Australia tighten research cooperation with the US and UK, and shrink cooperation with China in technologies with clear military applications,” South China Morning Post quoted James Laurenceson, director of the Australia-China Relations Institute at the University of Technology Sydney, as saying.

“But that still leaves enormous opportunities for joint scientific research that delivers benefits for both sides – renewable energy, adapting to climate change, medical advances and so on,” he added.

He noted that Canberra is also “pragmatic enough” to recognise that Australia’s limited scale makes international collaboration “a necessity”, while cutting Australian scientists off from Chinese talent and resources “would be a massive own goal that Canberra wouldn’t want to kick”.

According to South China Morning Post, citing a third source with knowledge of the matter, said Premier Li Qiang could visit Australia in June or July.

DFAT told the SCMP that “any visits by senior officials of foreign governments will be announced at the appropriate time”.

The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet declined to comment on potential official visits and events until formal announcements are made, added the report.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, meanwhile, had yet to reply to the SCMP’s request for comment.

Albanese visited Shanghai and Beijing in November – the first visit from an Australian leader in seven years – cementing a turn towards warmer relations after a frosty period for both countries.

DFAT data showed that China is Australia’s largest two-way trading partner, accounting for 26 per cent of the country’s goods and services trade in the 2022 and 2023 financial years.

China’s General Administration of Customs reported US$229.2 billion in total exports and imports between both countries for 2023, an increase of 4.1 per cent from a year earlier.

With inputs from agencies