Chinese ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian says government change in Canberra presents an “opportunity to reset relations”.
Australia’s recent change of government presents an “opportunity to reshape relations with China,” but more should be done to mend the sides’ strained trade ties, China’s top envoy to the country has said.
Speaking to the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday, Chinese Ambassador Xiao Qian said relations are at a “critical juncture” after the countries’ foreign ministers met for the first time in three years last month.
“It is very important for both sides to keep the momentum and take action for substantive progress and strive to get our bilateral ties back on track,” Xiao said.
Xiao said while China’s “friendship and cooperation” policy remains unchanged, Australia can pursue “pragmatic and positive policies” and “objective and rational perceptions” toward its country to improve ties.
“We can be partners despite our differences in political system and level of development,” he said.
Xiao also targeted the “misleading” and “negative” media coverage of China, which he says has damaged the countries’ people-to-people relations.
“It’s just difficult to find positive news about China,” he said.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong met her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of a G20 meeting in Bali and described their talks as “a first step towards stabilizing relations”.
The meeting came after the centre-left Labor Party came to power in May, ending nearly a decade of Conservative governance in Australia that coincided with a sharp deterioration in relations with its largest trading partner.
China imposed tariffs and other trade restrictions on billions of dollars in Australian exports from 2020 after then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison called for an international probe into the origins of COVID-19, marking the culmination of years of rising tensions over national security and people’s rights issues.
James Laurenceson, director of the Institute of Australia-China Relations at the University of Technology Sydney, said the envoy’s comments did not signal a major breakthrough in relations or “specific issues such as trade and consular affairs”.
“The ambassador also provided Beijing’s talking points around Taiwan etc., just as you would expect,” Laurenceson told Al Jazeera. “He maintained his reputation for being friendly, willing to discuss issues and addressing Australia-China relations in general.”
Xiao also on Wednesday defended Beijing’s continued cross-strait military drills following the visit of United States House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosis to Taiwan last week.
Xiao said there was “no room” for compromise on the “one China” policy and Beijing will not rule out other means to achieve “reunification” with the democratic, self-governing island should peaceful efforts fail.
“What does ‘all means necessary’ mean? You can let your imagination run wild,” he said.