China and Australia agreed to resume all-round dialogue and further strengthen cooperation after the seventh round of China-Australia diplomatic and strategic dialogue in Australian capital Canberra on Wednesday.
In the dialogue led by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Australian counterpart Penny Wong, the two sides agreed to resume and establish dialogue in all areas and carry out cooperation in more fields including diplomacy, economy, trade, technology, education and law enforcement. The two sides also agreed to actively launch a dialogue on maritime affairs and take further measures to facilitate personnel exchanges between the two countries.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) and his Australian counterpart Penny Wong shake hands, Canberra, Australia, March 20, 2024. /Chinese Foreign Ministry
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) and his Australian counterpart Penny Wong shake hands, Canberra, Australia, March 20, 2024. /Chinese Foreign Ministry
Draw lessons from the past
During their meeting in 2022, Wang said they had agreed to make efforts to break the ice and since then, exchanges and cooperation between the two countries have gradually resumed. Noting that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Australia comprehensive strategic partnership, Wang said the two sides should build on the current momentum and work together to build more mature, stable and fruitful bilateral relationship.
Looking back on the development of bilateral ties in the past 10 years, Wang said the two countries have experienced ups and downs, which helped both sides draw lessons and accumulate valuable experience.
"The most fundamental principle for developing China-Australia relations is mutual respect. China never interferes in Australia's internal affairs and respects its political system and national path. Similarly, we hope the Australian side can continue to honor the commitments it has made since the establishment of diplomatic ties and respect China's sovereignty, dignity and legitimate concerns, and properly handle them," Wang said.
Wang emphasized China's stance on its Taiwan region, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Xizang Autonomous Region, saying there are no historical grievances or conflicts of fundamental interests between China and Australia, and the common interests of the two countries far outweigh the differences.
The two sides should practice the basic norm of international law of respecting national sovereignty and territorial integrity, respect each other's core interests and major concerns, and promote the sustained, steady and sound development of bilateral relations, he added.
He stressed that in developing bilateral relations, the two sides must adhere to mutual respect and mutual benefit, seek common ground while shelving differences, and maintain independent diplomatic policies.
China and Australia hold the seventh round of diplomatic and strategic dialogue, Canberra, Australia, March 20, 2024. /Chinese Foreign Ministry
China and Australia hold the seventh round of diplomatic and strategic dialogue, Canberra, Australia, March 20, 2024. /Chinese Foreign Ministry
Strengthen cooperation
Wang said that China is willing to work with Australia for high-level exchanges, fully restart and make good use of the consultation and dialogue mechanisms, and strengthen cooperation in various fields, including traditional sectors, such as energy, mining and agricultural products, and new fields, such as new energy, digital economy, green development and climate change.
The Chinese and Australian economies are highly complementary. Last year, bilateral trade rose against the trend, and nearly 80 percent of Australia's foreign trade surplus came from trade with China. Wang said that it's hoped that the Australian side will take concrete measures to provide a fair, just and transparent business environment for Chinese enterprises to invest and operate in Australia.
Wang also noted that the two countries should continue to promote educational, cultural, tourism, sub-national and youth exchanges, actively take measures to facilitate people-to-people exchanges and consolidate public support for China-Australia relations.
For her part, Wong said that Australia and China have close ties in history, trade and culture, and the two countries are comprehensive strategic cooperative partners living in the same region, so China-Australia relations should not be defined by differences.
The Australian side is glad to see that bilateral relations have made substantial progress in recent years and is willing to further strengthen dialogue and communication with China on the basis of mutual respect, wisely manage differences, and deepen cooperation in economy, trade, culture and other fields, so that the steady development of the Australia-China ties can benefit the two peoples and promote regional peace and development.
The two sides also exchanged in-depth views on international and regional issues of common concern.
Wang: China's development offers opportunity to world
In a separate meeting with Australian business leaders and policy experts in Canberra on Wednesday, Wang said China pursues a mutually beneficial strategy of opening up and strives to create new opportunities for the world with its own development.
Stressing that the common interests of the two sides far outweigh their differences, Wang said China and Australia should be partners rather than rivals.
"Since China-Australia relations have embarked on the track of improvement, we should make great strides forward to build a more stable, mature and fruitful China-Australia comprehensive strategic partnership, which will better benefit the people of the two countries and the countries in the region," he said.
The top Chinese diplomat called on business leaders and policy experts to contribute more to the development of China-Australia relations.
Participants from the Australian side welcomed the improvement in bilateral relations, saying they support the two countries in deepening dialogue and cooperation in the fields of economy and trade, finance, education, health, scientific research and law.
They said they believe that the two sides should properly handle differences, actively explore new cooperation opportunities in green development and science and technological innovation, and jointly address global challenges such as climate change to promote the continuous development of Australia-China relations.