SYDNEY - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit Australia and New Zealand next week, officials from both countries said on March 14.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese welcomed the visit, which comes days after China hinted it was close to removing restrictions on Australian wine, first imposed during a diplomatic spat in 2020.

“I look forward to meeting Wang Yi during his visit to Canberra next week,” Mr Albanese said during a televised media briefing. “It’s a good thing that Wang Yi is visiting, it’s a good thing to have dialogue.”

The last time a Chinese foreign minister visited Australia was in 2017.

Australia’s diplomatic relations with China had been severely strained since 2018, when the previous conservative government banned Huawei from providing equipment during the roll-out of its 5G network.

Ties soured further after Canberra called for an independent investigation into the origin of Covid-19.

China responded by imposing tariffs on several Australian commodities. It has been lifting most trade blocks since Mr Albanese’s Labor government came to power two years ago.

Australia’s top publicly listed winemaker Treasury Wine Estates said on March 12 that China’s Ministry of Commerce has released an interim proposal to remove tariffs on Australian wine, raising hopes that nearly three years of duties would soon end.

“That is a positive development,” Mr Albanese said, adding that wine exports to China were worth more than A$1 billion (S$883 million) annually before tariffs were enforced.

He said he was confident those restrictions would be lifted.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong is expected to raise consular matters, trade impediments, human rights, conflict prevention and regional security during her talks with Mr Wang on March 20.

“It’s Australia’s view that a stable bilateral relationship would enable both countries to pursue respective national interests, if we navigate our differences wisely,” Ms Wong said in a statement. 

Mr Wang will also visit New Zealand, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said later on March 14, calling the relationship one of New Zealand’s “most important and complex”.

The ministers will also discuss regional and global issues, including the importance of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. REUTERS