SHANGHAI - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, starting the first visit to China by a leader of his country in seven years, said on Sunday it was “in all our interests” to have a bilateral relationship with dialogue and cooperation.
Australia will continue to work constructively with China, he said in a short speech to the annual China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, which was opened by Premier Li Qiang.
Mr Albanese is the first Australian leader to visit China since 2016.
It is part of an effort to patch up relations that had deteriorated over several years due to disputes over Chinese telecoms company Huawei, espionage and Covid-19.
Before leaving Australia on Saturday, he said his much-anticipated visit to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and Mr Li marked a “very positive step” in stabilising strained bilateral ties.
China’s Foreign Ministry has said Mr Albanese would meet Chinese leaders and “have an in-depth exchange of views on bilateral issues as well as on international and regional issues of common concern”.
“A healthy and stable China-Australia relationship accords with the fundamental interests of both countries and peoples,” said ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin.
Mr Albanese’s administration has sought more amicable ties with China while also pushing back against Beijing’s growing influence in the Pacific region.
The Prime Minister on Sunday said the development of the Asia-Pacific region was “the lens through which we see so much of the future”, and that “Australia’s relationship with China is a key part of all of this”.
He hailed a “mature relationship” between Beijing and Canberra, “energised by the complementary nature of our economies”.
The bonhomie is a stark shift in tone from three years ago, when bilateral ties were in a deep freeze.
China slapped punitive tariffs on a range of Australian commodities in 2020 after Canberra’s then conservative government barred Huawei from 5G contracts and called for an investigation into the origins of Covid-19.
But under Mr Albanese’s liberal administration, those tariffs have been lifted. Beijing has also indicated it will abolish similar penalties on Australian wine.
Mr Albanese was among a handful of heads of state present at the opening of the CIIE. The event is touted by Beijing as a platform for international economic cooperation, though foreign business groups have complained the deals it generates lack substance.
Organisers say more than 3,400 exhibitors will participate in the sixth annual CIIE, which runs until Friday. It is the first edition of the fair to take place since China relaxed strict pandemic travel controls.
It also comes as foreign business confidence weakens in the world’s second-largest economy.
The US and European chambers of commerce have warned in recent months that companies are increasingly looking to move their investments away from China.
Premier Li told expo guests on Sunday that China was committed to opening up and increasing market access for international investors. “China sincerely wishes to work with other countries to meet each other halfway and make mutual achievements on a grand stage of openness,” Mr Li said at the opening of the expo.
But Mr Carlo D’Andrea, vice-president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, told reporters in Shanghai on Friday that “the CIIE in its current form is smoke and mirrors, and it has become a political show that is distinguished as a trade fair”.
He said EU Chamber members had complained of logistical difficulties and high costs to participate in the fair, while visitors were largely from government departments rather than potential buyers.
The percentage of EU Chamber members participating in the CIIE has fallen from 42 per cent to 32 per cent since the first year of the fair in 2018, according to survey results published by the group on Friday. REUTERS, AFP
