Chinese Premier Li Qiang tells Australia: let's try to set aside our differences

Premier Li Qiang has said Australia and China must look for common ground despite their differences at the start of a visit where trade will feature prominently on the agenda.

Li arrived in Adelaide on Saturday after a three-day trip to New Zealand and before a stopover in Malaysia. He was greeted by Foreign Minister Penny Wong, South Australian premier Peter Malinauskas and Chinese ambassador Xiao Qian.

"China-Australia exchanges have a long history and the friendship between the two peoples has lasted for a long time," Li told the media at the start of a four-day stay that will also take him to Perth and Canberra.

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Since President Xi Jinping's visit to Australia in 2014, when the two countries established a comprehensive strategic partnership, various exchanges and forms of cooperation have been "accelerated and upgraded", with mutual benefit and win-win situations being the "main feature" of their ties, he said.

"History has proven that mutual respect, seeking common ground while reserving differences and mutually beneficial cooperation are valuable experiences in developing China-Australia relations, which need to be upheld and promoted," said Li.

Li will also meet Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during the visit and the pair will both attend a roundtable meeting with chief executives.

Li said Albanese's visit to China in November marked a return to the "right track of development after experiencing twists and turns", using language that echoed previous comments by Xi.

Relations were at a low point under Albanese's predecessor Scott Morrison, who called for an international investigation into the origins of Covid-19 and formed the Aukus security pact with Britain and the United States.

Relations have warmed since Albanese's election victory in 2022 and he has held several discussions with Xi that have led to the removal of many trade restrictions.

On his visit to New Zealand, Li held meetings with diplomats, academics and business people, while also pledging to upgrade the two countries' comprehensive strategic partnership and further expand market access for New Zealanders.

Observers are similarly expecting positive developments on the other side of the Tasman Sea, including the removal of the remaining trade ban on Australian live lobsters, as well as a potential 15-day visa-free arrangement for Australian citizens visiting China - an offer also made to New Zealand and several other countries.

"I look forward to having in-depth exchanges of views with Australian leaders and friends from all walks of life on China-Australia relations and issues of common concern, and to jointly discuss cooperation, promote development, and talk about friendship," Li said.

Li's visit is the first by a Chinese premier in seven years and is expected to pave the way for Xi's first trip to Australia in a decade.

He also said that "China is willing to jointly make an effort with Australia" to achieve a "more more mature, stable and fruitful" economic relationship.

Marking the return of panda diplomacy, Li is expected to visit Adelaide Zoo and discuss the continued loan of two pandas.

He will also visit the national parliament and stop by a Chinese-owned lithium processing plant in the Kwinana industrial area in Western Australia.

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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