High-level meeting further repairs broken Australia-China relations

Human rights and trade sanctions were the main topics at talks between the Chinese and Australian foreign ministers in Canberra on Wednesday.

Analysts say bilateral relations are stabilizing after years of geopolitical and trade disputes, but differences remain.

Australian Foreign Minister Wong Ying-hyun said there would be a “candid exchange of views” with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi ahead of talks in Canberra on Wednesday.

Wang Yi is the most powerful Chinese politician to visit Australia since 2017.

During the meeting, Huang said she raised the issue of the death penalty for Chinese-Australian democracy activist Yang Hengjun, insisting that “Australians were shocked by the verdict”.

Human rights issues in China’s Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong were also discussed, Huang told reporters in Canberra.

She said dialogue would also be expanded in the future in “critical areas such as the Pacific, climate and energy cooperation.”

Huang said the bilateral relationship needs to be carefully nurtured to flourish.

“A stable relationship between Australia and China does not happen naturally, it requires sustained effort and this is the latest meeting in that process. As Minister Wang reflected in our meeting, we have a mature and A productive relationship is in both our interests,” she said.

Wang Yi told a news conference in Canberra that Wednesday’s talks would help eliminate “doubts and enhance trust” and that he hoped “this positive interaction can continue further.”

China has previously expressed opposition to Australia’s plans to jointly build nuclear-powered submarines with the United States and Britain.

Australia and China have slowly re-established diplomatic relations. The numbers reached their lowest point in 2020, when Canberra called for an inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.

Beijing was outraged by what it saw as criticism of its handling of the epidemic.

Retaliatory trade restrictions followed, but earlier this month Chinese authorities issued an interim declaration that high tariffs on Australian wine were no longer required. The tariffs may be lifted by the end of this month. The tariffs were imposed in 2020 amid rising tensions between China and Australia over various geopolitical hot-button issues.

Analysts say the two countries are economically interdependent. China’s demand for raw materials has underpinned Australia’s recent boom.

Australian iron ore and liquefied natural gas have been the main drivers of China’s economic expansion.