China-Australia relations on right track: Wang Yi
Australia will prepare for a visit by Premier Li Qiang this year, the country's Foreign Minister Penny Wong said after meeting Beijing’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, in Canberra. Wang is visiting Australia for the first time since 2017, marking a diplomatic thaw between the two trading partners. According to a Foreign Ministry statement, Wang said he hoped Australia will take practical measures to uphold the principles of the market economy and provide a non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises in Australia. He added that China-Australia relations are on the right track and should not go backward. "The most fundamental thing is to insist on mutual respect, the most crucial thing is to insist on seeking common ground while reserving differences, the most important thing is to insist on mutual benefit and win-win situation, and the most valuable thing is to insist on independence and autonomy," he said according to the transcript. For her part, Wong praised the renewed "stability" between Beijing and Canberra.  Addressing reporters after the meeting, she said the two nations would work to prepare for a visit by Premier Li, emphasising the importance of face-to-face diplomacy to better understand each other. There were also several ongoing points of friction. "We discussed the sentencing of Dr Yang Hengjun. I told the Foreign Minister Australians were shocked at the sentence imposed," she said. The Foreign Ministry last month said the writer, also known as Yang Jun, is guilty of espionage and was given a suspended death sentence by a court in Beijing. In another sign diplomacy was back on track, Wong also said it was likely two pandas on loan from China since 2009, and due to return this year, would have their stay in her home city of Adelaide extended. "We are on a good path there to continued panda presence," she told reporters. On his Australia trip, Wang will also hold talks with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and hold a private meeting with 11 business, university and think tank representatives. He will meet former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating, who has criticised his country's Aukus nuclear-powered submarine deal with the US, on Thursday. (Reuters/AFP)