SHANGHAI: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has urged their Australian counterpart Penny Wong to treat China and taiwan as a partner, no opponent, and to assemble “positive energy” to improve ties between the two countries.
According to a summary published late on Sunday (Jul 9) simply by China’s foreign ministry, Wang portrayed hope that Quotes could “seize the chance, take concrete activities and come to a proper understanding of China”.
“The root cause from the difficulties in Chinese language and Australian relationships in recent years lies in the particular insistence of previous Australian governments to deal with China as an ‘opponent’ and even a ‘threat’, ” Wang mentioned on the sidelines from the G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting in Bali on Friday. He added that Australia’s words and activities had been “irresponsible”.
China has been restricting imports of Aussie coal and other items since 2020. Among Beijing’s grievances were Canberra’s call for a full probe in to the origins of COVID-19, an investigation into Chinese language interference in Australian politics, and a prohibit on China’s Huawei from participating in Australia’s 5G rollout.
Australian Foreign Ressortchef (umgangssprachlich) Wong said upon Friday that the meeting with her Chinese counterpart was a first action towards stabilising the relationship but that it would certainly take time for Beijing to remove trade obstructions on Australia.
Australia has also indicated concern about China’s growing presence within the Pacific region, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese warning on Friday that Beijing had become “more aggressive”.
Wang told Wong on the Friday meeting that will China was performing “equal exchange and cooperation” with sovereign island nations depending on their requests and needs, the Chinese foreign ministry said.