CHINA and Australia's trade ministers held their first in-person economic dialogue since 2019 in Beijing, with both sides pushing to resolve areas of dispute that have poisoned relations.
Speaking after his arrival, Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell said he was in Beijing to make progress in 'stabilising our trading relationship with China', Bloomberg reports.
Relations between the two began to deteriorate in 2017 Canberra concerts over chinese interference in its domestic politics as well as Australia's decision to ban Chinese firms from participating in the 5G phone network.
Tensions came to a head in April 2020 when then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison called for an international investigation into the origins of Covid-19 in Wuhan.
In the meetings, Mr Farrell said he raised all of Canberra's issues, including the cases of two Australian citizens held by China on national security grounds.
'I am very confident that as a result of this face-to-face discussion that we are well on track to getting a stable, normal relationship with China,' Mr Farrell told reporters after a dinner with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao.
Since the election of the new leftist Labor government in Canberra, relations have steadily warmed. Imports of Australian coal have resumed while Beijing announced in April it would be holding a review into tariffs it placed on barley imports.
In return, Australia announced it would pause its case against China in the World Trade Organisation.
China wants to have access to more opportunities to invest in Australia, a sensitive issue given that Canberra is closely tied to the US on security and relations between Beijing and Washington are extremely strained.
SeaNews Turkey
Speaking after his arrival, Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell said he was in Beijing to make progress in 'stabilising our trading relationship with China', Bloomberg reports.
Relations between the two began to deteriorate in 2017 Canberra concerts over chinese interference in its domestic politics as well as Australia's decision to ban Chinese firms from participating in the 5G phone network.
Tensions came to a head in April 2020 when then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison called for an international investigation into the origins of Covid-19 in Wuhan.
In the meetings, Mr Farrell said he raised all of Canberra's issues, including the cases of two Australian citizens held by China on national security grounds.
'I am very confident that as a result of this face-to-face discussion that we are well on track to getting a stable, normal relationship with China,' Mr Farrell told reporters after a dinner with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao.
Since the election of the new leftist Labor government in Canberra, relations have steadily warmed. Imports of Australian coal have resumed while Beijing announced in April it would be holding a review into tariffs it placed on barley imports.
In return, Australia announced it would pause its case against China in the World Trade Organisation.
China wants to have access to more opportunities to invest in Australia, a sensitive issue given that Canberra is closely tied to the US on security and relations between Beijing and Washington are extremely strained.
SeaNews Turkey
