Australia should remove its “colored glasses” to get relations back on track with major trading partner China, Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) told his Australian counterpart on the sidelines of a G20 meeting in Argentina.
Relations between the two nations have cooled since late last year when Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s government proposed a bill to limit foreign influence in Australia, including political donations.
Beijing saw the move as “anti-China.”
Photo: Reuters
The diplomatic rift spilled into the trade arena last week when a major Australian wine maker said it was facing new Chinese customs delays, raising fears among other Australian exporters that depend on access to China.
Wang told Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop on Monday that some difficulties had affected contact and cooperation between the two nations, the Chinese foreign ministry said yesterday in a statement on its Web site.
The pair met on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Buenos Aires.
“What I want to emphasize is, if the Australian side wishes the bilateral relationship to return to the right track and realize sustained healthy development, then it must abandon traditional thinking and take off its colored glasses,” Wang was quoted as saying in the statement.
Wang said he had noted an improvement in tone from Bishop and the Australian government.
In an interview yesterday with the Australian Broadcasting Corp, Bishop said she had a “very warm and candid and constructive discussion” with Wang.
“While we stand up for our values and our interests and our policies and we can disagree with friends from time to time, most certainly the relationship is strong,” she said.
A visit to Shanghai last week by Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Steven Ciobo was seen as a bid to mend a relationship that included A$170 billion (US$128 billion) in two-way trade last year.
Ciobo’s visit was overshadowed by delays at Chinese customs that held up exports by Australia’s Treasury Wine Estates Ltd.
An Australian source familiar with the meeting between Bishop and Wang said it had focused on regional security and trade, and the Treasury Wine issue was not specifically discussed.
Several unidentified Australian business owners who operate in China on the weekend told Fairfax Media that Chinese authorities had been unfairly targeting Australian products with delays and extra scrutiny at customs and distribution.
Turnbull, who in December cited “disturbing reports about Chinese influence” and promised to stand up to Beijing, is to travel to China later this year to smooth over bumpy diplomatic ties, Fairfax Media reported.
Wang, who is also a state councilor, on Monday said that China “never interferes with the internal politics of other countries, let alone carry out the so-called infiltration of other countries.”
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