China calls for 'rebuilding mutual trust' with Australia

BEIJING - China’s foreign minister called for the “rebuilding of mutual trust” in a phone conversation with his Australian counterpart on Tuesday, Beijing said, in a sign of easing tensions after years of difficult ties between the countries.

Australia and China maintained virtually no high-level communication during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Beijing had slapped a

trade embargo on billions of dollars worth of Australian goods

in retaliation for Canberra urging an independent probe into the origins of the virus.

China has previously demanded Australia address its grievances as a precondition to improving ties, with Beijing’s ambassador quoting foreign minister Wang Yi as saying “a reset requires concrete actions”.

But Mr Wang has met Australia’s top diplomat Penny Wong twice this year.

It is an indication that ties are thawing gradually since a new centre-left government under

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese took power in May.

“The easing and improvement of China-Australia relations serves the fundamental interests of both sides,” Mr Wang said according to a Chinese foreign ministry readout of Tuesday’s call.

Both countries should “promote the rebuilding of mutual trust... gradually address their legitimate concerns and jointly make positive contributions to addressing current global challenges”, Mr Wang added.

Analysts believe a possible meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Mr Albanese may take place on the sidelines of next week’s

G-20 summit in Bali.

Mr Xi is also likely to have his first face-to-face meeting with US President Joe Biden at the summit, as the superpowers contend with deteriorating ties over a range of issues.

However, China remains a fraught issue in Australian public debate.

Politicians are regularly sounding fears over national security and Beijing’s growing influence in neighbouring Pacific Island countries.

In June, Canberra said an Australian surveillance jet had been dangerously

intercepted by a Chinese military plane

in the South China Sea.

Beijing has also criticised

Australia’s nuclear submarine pact

with the United States and Britain.

It also regularly bashes the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, an influential government-funded think tank that has produced leading research on alleged human rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang region. AFP