Straight talk: Chinese ambassador faces media as tensions thaw
China wants to work with Australia to explore “new frontiers” including cooperation on addressing climate change.
Chinaās ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday it had been a āpositive, constructive and productiveā period following the election of the Labor government.
Mr Xiao said meetings between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and President Xi Jinping, as well as Foreign Minister Penny Wongās visit to Beijing had been key moments in rebuilding the relationship which had been through āa difficult period of timeā over several years.
He said a ānew consensusā was being built, but admitted differences over areas such as trade would require addressing āin a constructive mannerā.
āThis relationship is important for both sides and both sides should work together to improve, to uphold and to develop the relationship,ā he said.
The ambassador flagged further exploration of ānew frontiersā, especially in the area of green energy and electric cars.
You might like
āThere is such a strong complementarity between the two countries,ā he said.
Relations between the nations have been strained in recent years, highlighted by Chinaās $20 billion of trade sanctions against Australian exports of barley, beef, cotton, wine, lobsters and grapes.
Australia has complained to the World Trade Organisation about the barley and wine sanctions and the trade bodyās findings are due later this year.
Reports last week suggested Chinaās state planner had allowed three central government-backed utilities and a steelmaker to restart importing coal from Australia.
Similar reports surfaced in July 2022, however the purported changes did not come to fruition.
Want to see more stories from InDaily Qld in your Google search results?
- Click here to set InDaily Qld as a preferred source.
- Tick the box next to "InDaily Qld". That's it.
