China, Australia to 'properly' manage differences: Premier Li after 'candid' talks

China and Australia have agreed to "properly" manage their differences to enhance the "vitality and durability" of their bilateral relationship, following "candid" talks in Canberra.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang met his counterpart Anthony Albanese in the Australian capital on Monday, as the most senior Beijing official to visit the country in seven years.

The talks were "in-depth and fruitful", Li said, highlighting "candid" exchanges on some differences and disagreements between the two countries.

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The two sides will expand cooperation on new energy vehicles, Li told a joint press conference with Albanese after the meeting. The pledge comes amid a looming trade war between China and the European Union over Brussels' tariff hikes and investigations into state subsidies for the Chinese green sector.

Li also announced that travel to China would become visa-free for Australians, mirroring an initiative for New Zealanders he unveiled last week in Auckland, but did not offer details.

The world's No 2 economy has granted visa waivers to more than a dozen countries in Europe and Southeast Asia over the past year, as it tries to draw more foreign visitors and investors to boost post-Covid growth and mend its global image, dented by strict pandemic controls and nationwide anti-espionage efforts.

A joint statement issued later on Monday said the two countries had agreed on reciprocal access to multiple-entry visas for up to five years for tourism, business and family visits.

Referring to points of contention between China and Australia, Li said: "[We] agreed to properly manage them in a manner befitting our comprehensive strategic partnership."

Albanese in his remarks highlighted mutual differences in "histories, political systems and values".

"We will cooperate with China where we can, disagree where we must and engage in the national interest," he said, repeating his government's formula for engaging with Beijing.

Geopolitical tensions have strained ties between the two major trading partners in recent years, as Australia's closer security bonds with the United States through the Quad partnership with Japan and India and the Aukus defence agreement with Britain being viewed by China as parts of efforts to "contain" its rise.

Australia, a part of the anglophone "Five Eyes" intelligence alliance with the US, is viewed by Washington as a "vital ally, partner, and friend".

China-Australia relations hit a low point four years ago after Albanese's predecessor Scott Morrison in April 2020 called for an international investigation into the origins of Covid-19. China criticised the Australian move as politically motivated.

The escalating diplomatic row saw China halt ministerial-level exchanges and impose several trade barriers on Australian products, including beef, barley, sugar, wine, timber, coal, copper and lobster, at a huge cost to the exporters.

But ties have warmed since Albanese's election victory two years ago. His visit to China last November, which included a meeting with President Xi Jinping, was followed by Beijing lifting some tariffs and bans on Australian imports - although the ban on live lobster remains.

Australian trade chief Don Farrell said on Sunday that he would raise the issue of the lobster ban - the "one remaining product outstanding" - with his Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao during Li's visit, now that the two countries had managed "to remove all of the trade impediments".

Li, China's No 2 official after Xi, is the first premier to visit Australia since his predecessor Li Keqiang in 2017. His trip is expected to pave the way for Xi's first visit to Australia in a decade.

"This relationship is on the right track of steady improvement and development," Li reiterated at the joint press briefing.

"We both stand for expanding mutually beneficial cooperation and enhancing the vitality and durability of China-Australia relations."

But while trade frictions have eased, the two sides remain at odds over a series of issues in the Asia-Pacific, such as the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait.

Albanese called on Beijing, "as a regional and global power" to play its "vital role" in keeping the region open, stable and prosperous.

"Australia advocates that we should all work together to promote a regional balance where no country dominates and no country is dominated, a region where countries large and small operate by the same rules, rules that we have all had a say in shaping," Albanese said.

It was "crucial" for China and Australia to engage, he said, "given how close we are geographically, how interconnected we are economically and the deep enduring bonds between our people".

"I'm determined to keep growing our relationship where we can," Albanese added.

Li said that the two sides agreed to step up communication to jointly safeguard regional peace and to explore ways to better help the development of Pacific Island nations.

The joint statement said the two sides had agreed to launch a bilateral dialogue mechanism on maritime affairs, and to continue political talks between the two defence ministries.

Li and Albanese oversaw the signing of five cooperation documents - on trade, economic dialogue, education, climate and cultural exchanges.

Li said that both sides were committed to making good use of several dialogue mechanisms to address economic and trade concerns, and provide a "fair, open and non-discriminatory" business climate for their companies.

"We will leverage our respective strengths to expand cooperation in energy, mining, new energy vehicles, green development and the digital economy," he said.

Li's next stop will be Perth, in the mining state of Western Australia. He arrived in Adelaide on Saturday for a four-day Australian trip as part of a week-long tour of the region that will also take him to Malaysia.

Li reaffirmed that China would provide a pair of younger giant pandas to Adelaide Zoo, a promise he made in Adelaide on Sunday. "They will continue to serve as a bridge of friendship between the two peoples," he said.

He also called on Australia to support Hong Kong's accession to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, a request he also made to New Zealand last week.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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