Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged Wednesday to promote a comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Australia in a message to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, state-run media said.
In messages to Australian Governor-General David Hurley and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Xi said he attaches "great importance" to bilateral ties and their development not only benefits the two countries' people but is also "conducive to promoting the peace, stability and prosperity of the region and the world".
The Chinese and Australian foreign ministers held talks in Beijing also on Wednesday, with both sides eager to improve bilateral ties, strained over issues such as China's trade tariffs and Australia's call for an investigation into the origins of Covid-19.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a statement issued after the talks with his Australian counterpart Penny Wong that the two countries "can become mutually needed cooperative partners" as they have "neither historical grievances nor fundamental conflicts of interest".
Wang said bilateral relations have "encountered difficulties and setbacks" in the past few years, but that was "the last thing we want to see" and the two countries must learn from the lessons.
Wong, the first Australian minister to visit China in three years, said in her opening remarks, "We can grow our bilateral relationship and uphold both of our national interests, if both countries navigate our differences wisely," according to the Australian Foreign Ministry.
She expressed willingness to discuss the issue of Australian nationals detained in China, Beijing's trade tariffs, alleged human rights abuses and "the global rules and norms that underpin our security and our prosperity."
China has imposed a number of trade sanctions on Australian barley, wine and coal exports. The world's second-largest economy is Australia's largest trading partner.
Cheng Lei, an Australian journalist, and Yang Hengjun, a Chinese-Australian blogger, have been prosecuted in China for espionage.
Bilateral tensions have eased considerably since Australia elected a new Labor government in May. Xi and Albanese held talks in Bali, Indonesia, last month on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit.
High-level communication has resumed between the two countries after a two-year deep freeze triggered by former Prime Minister Scott Morrison's assertion that there should be an independent investigation into the source of the coronavirus outbreak, first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
