Australia's Anthony Albanese hails 'promising signs' of better relations with China

Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who is in Beijing for landmark talks with President Xi Jinping, Monday hailed “promising signs” of better relations with China. After years of bitterness between the two trading partners, Albanese predicted a “constructive discussion” with Xi and lauded improved trade ties. Albanese is the first Australian prime minister to visit China in seven years and his trip indicates towards normalisation of ties between both the countries. “I think there are promising signs. We have already seen a number of the impediments to trade between two nations removed,” Albanese said. Since 2020, Beijing ties with Australia have soured after it voiced displeasure at a slew of Australian policy decisions. Beijing has been irked by Canberra’s move to ban Huawei from 5G contracts, its targeting of Chinese influence operations in Australia and a decision to challenge China on its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. In response, China instituted a shadow ban on ministerial meetings and slapped punitive tariffs on a slew of Australian commodities ranging from coal, to barley, to wine. Albanese, who leads the centre-left Labor party, took power in 2022 promising to steady the relationship with Australia’s largest trading partner. Speaking after touring the Temple of Heaven – one of China’s most visited historic sites – Albanese said that the mood, and trade flows, had since improved. He said there had been a “substantial uplift in the trade between our two nations” after China eased some import restrictions. “We need to cooperate with China where we can, disagree where we must,” he added. Listen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.com “China is our most important trading partner. It represents more than 25 percent of our exports and one in four of our jobs relies upon our trade. So it’s an important relationship.” With inputs from AFP