Beijing, Canberra to bolster cooperation

President Xi Jinping expressed on Monday China's willingness to work with Australia to build a more mature, stable and constructive comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries to inject greater stability and certainty into the Asia-Pacific region and the world.

Xi made the remark during a meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on the sidelines of the 19th G20 Summit.

Noting that there are fundamentally no conflicts of interest between China and Australia, Xi emphasized that as long as both sides respect each other, treat each other as equals and seek common ground while shelving differences, bilateral relations will certainly develop well.

China has been Australia's largest trading partner for 15 consecutive years, with bilateral trade reaching around $230 billion last year. Bilateral relations were severely damaged in the past few years due to the negative policies adopted by the previous Australian government toward China. The two countries have broken the ice since Albanese took office in 2022.

During Monday's meeting, Xi praised the progress achieved in the past year, and noted that a record high of more than 250 Australian companies participated in this year's China International Import Expo. This shows the "vote of confidence" that Australian businesses have given the Chinese economy and bilateral cooperation, he said.

Both sides should remain committed to expanding the dynamics of mutually beneficial cooperation, Xi said, adding that China is willing to import more high-quality Australian products and encourage Chinese companies to invest and expand their businesses in Australia.

He expressed the hope that Australia will provide a fair, transparent and nondiscriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises.

Noting that both China and Australia are supporters and defenders of economic globalization and free trade, Xi called on the two countries to strengthen coordination and cooperation, oppose protectionism, and promote the sharing of opportunities and benefits among countries through opening-up, in order to achieve common development.

Albanese commended the encouraging progress made in bilateral relations and reiterated Australia's commitment to adhering to the one-China policy, opposing economic decoupling and advocating the advancement of economic globalization.

He praised China's contributions to the long-term stability and development of the Asia-Pacific region, as well as its significant role in multilateral mechanisms, and said Australia is willing to strengthen communication with China to promote regional peace, stability and prosperity.

[email protected]