“I wish to work with you, Mr prime minister, to make our comprehensive strategic partnership more mature, stable and fruitful, and inject more stability and certainty to the region and the wider world.”
The two last met for a formal bilateral meeting in Beijing last December and at the G20 summit in Bali in late 2022, marking a restoration of top-level talks after several years without leader-to-leader meetings.
The chill in the diplomatic relationship followed China’s criticism of Australian security decisions including the passage of laws against foreign interference, concerns about cyber threats from China and the formation of the AUKUS alliance with the United States and the United Kingdom.
President Xi Jinping and the Chinese delegation during a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Australian delegation in Rio de Janeiro.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
While the Abbott government sealed a free trade agreement with China in 2014, the differences over regional security – including the construction of Chinese military bases in the South China Sea – led to a series of Chinese bans on Australian coal, barley, lobster, wine and other products.
Xi has stepped up his message about a “multipolar world” at the G20 and the earlier gathering of regional leaders at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Peru on Friday and Saturday.
The Chinese leader has held bilateral meetings with United States President Joe Biden as well as leaders from New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Brazil, Peru and Chile.
Albanese thanked Xi for hosting him in Beijing last year and the fact that the two had “recommenced” the leaders’ meetings between the two countries.
The prime minister made no mention of the differences between the two countries in his public comments, as reporters filmed and recorded the opening remarks at the bilateral meeting.
“Trade is flowing more freely to the benefit of both countries and to people and businesses on both sides,” he said.
“We continue to explore opportunities for practical co-operation in areas of shared interest, including on our energy transition and climate change.
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“Our whole region will benefit from the prosperity that can flow from peace, security and stability in our region.
“That is why our direct discussions to build deeper understanding on the issues that matter to us are so important.”
In a sign of Xi’s diplomatic effort at the G20 summit, the president was joined by several top officials in his talks with Albanese. They included politburo member Cai Qi, foreign minister and politburo member Wang Yi, policy research office director Jiang Jinquan, National Development and Reform Commission chairman Zheng Shanjie, Finance Minister Lan Fo’an, Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and the Governor of the People’s Bank of China, Pan Gongsheng.