Xi Jinping meets the Australian Prime Minister in Beijing

(Xinhua/Huang Jingwen)

Chinese President Xi Jinping met the Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday in Beijing.

Mr. XI once again congratulated Mr. Albanese for his re -election. He said that with the joint efforts of both parties, Sino-Australian relations have come out of the rut and have experienced a reversal in recent years, bringing concrete profits to the peoples of the two countries.

The most important lesson to be drawn is that treating yourself on an equal footing, seeking common ground while putting aside differences, and engaging in mutually beneficial cooperation serves the fundamental interests of China and Australia, as well as the two peoples, said Xi.

Noting that the global strategic partnership China-Australia entered his second decade, Mr. Xi said that China was ready to work with Australia to advance their relationships with a view to healthy development, for an ever-increasing profit from the two peoples.

Noting that China and Australia must continue to strengthen their mutual strategic confidence, Mr. XI has reaffirmed China’s unshakable commitment to peaceful development, its dedication to shared progress and its policy to promote cooperation in Asia-Pacific.

China defends solidarity and cooperation between nations, the acceleration of the construction of the free trade area of Asia-Pacific, the promotion of liberalization and the facilitation of trade and investment as well as the promotion of peace, development and prosperity in the region, announced Mr. XI. He called on both parties to maintain correct perceptions of each other, in order to consolidate the foundations of mutual trust.

XI also called on the two countries to deepen and expand their mutually beneficial cooperation, noting that China was the largest trading partner in Australia for 16 consecutive years, and that trade with China has brought concrete benefits to Australia.

The two countries should synergy their development strategies, cultivate a business environment favorable to businesses, create more common interests and new cooperation pathways, while constantly improving the scope and quality of cooperation, he continued.

Stressing the importance of maintaining relations between peoples, Xi said that China welcomed Australians from all back to visit the country and that it was ready to invite more young Australians to participate in exchange programs.

He called on the two parties to cope together with risks and challenges, to defend international equity and justice, to protect multilateralism and free trade as well as to defend the international system with the United Nations in its center and the international order based on international law.

Mr. Albanese, for his part, declared that Australia attached great importance to its relations with China and hoped to collaborate with the Chinese part to treat itself as an equal, to seek common ground while putting aside disputes and engaging in mutually beneficial cooperation in order to advance bilateral links.

Note that Australia adheres to the policy of a single China and does not support the “independence of Taiwan”, he announced that the country was ready to maintain dialogue and exchanges with China at all levels in order to strengthen mutual trust.

According to Mr. Albanese, the development of China is vital for Australia, and Australia has never sought to cut itself off from the Chinese economy. He added that Australia was determined to advance practical cooperation in green industries, the response to climate change and medical technology for mutual benefit, while strengthening exchanges between peoples in the tourism, education and sport sectors in order to deepen mutual understanding.

Australia will work with China to defend multilateralism, jointly safeguarding the free trade and the WTO rules, and providing greater stability and greater certainty to the international community, he said, adding that its country supported China in the organization of the meeting of the economic leaders of the APEC in 2026.