China and Australia agreed Wednesday to maintain high-level engagement and further dialogue in such areas as trade and climate change, with both sides seeking to repair strained ties on the 50th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations.
During talks in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Australian counterpart, Penny Wong, "reiterated the importance of a stable, constructive relationship to both sides, the region and the world," according to a joint statement.
Bilateral relations had deteriorated over such issues as China's trade tariffs, its detention of Australian nationals and Canberra's call for an investigation into the origins of COVID-19.
Also Wednesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to promote a comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries in his messages to Australian Governor-General David Hurley and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Xi said he attaches "great importance" to bilateral ties and their development not only benefits the two countries' people but is also "conducive to promoting the peace, stability and prosperity of the region and the world," according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Wang said in a separate statement issued after the talks with Wong that the two countries "should and can be mutually needed partners of cooperation" as they have "neither historical grievances nor fundamental conflicts of interest."
The Chinese minister said bilateral relations have "encountered difficulties and setbacks" in the past few years, but that was "the last thing we want to see," and the two countries must learn from the lessons.
Wong, the first Australian minister to visit China in three years, told reporters following the meeting with Wang, "We are able to grow our bilateral relationship and uphold our respective national interests if we navigate our differences wisely."
She said she discussed Beijing's trade blockages, alleged human rights abuses and the treatment of Cheng Lei, an Australian journalist, and Yang Hengjun, a Chinese-Australian blogger, both of whom have been prosecuted in China for espionage.
China has imposed a number of trade sanctions on Australian barley, wine and coal exports. The world's second-largest economy is Australia's largest trading partner.
As for human rights, Wong told reporters Canberra believes they are universal. "We have a principled view about the observance and respect for human rights, and that applies in terms of our views about Xinjiang or Tibet or Hong Kong."
On China's bid to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement, Wong said any economy that seeks to join the 11-member pact needs to ensure that all parties to the agreement are confident that it could "meet its very high standards."
Among the 11 countries, Australia and Japan, two major economies in the grouping, have been skeptical about the possibility of Beijing meeting the entry requirements. Last year, China applied to accede to the pact, formally known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Bilateral tensions have eased considerably since Australia elected a new Labor government in May. Xi and Albanese held talks in Bali, Indonesia, last month on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit.
High-level communication has resumed between the two countries after a two-year deep freeze triggered by former Prime Minister Scott Morrison's assertion that there should be an independent investigation into the source of the coronavirus outbreak, first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
