China and Australia agree to address their “differences” to “revitalize” their bilateral relations

June 17 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The authorities of China and Australia agreed this Monday to address their “differences” to “revitalize” their bilateral relations between the two countries during a visit by the Chinese Prime Minister, Li Qiang, who met with his Australian counterpart, Anthony Albanese, in Canberra.

Li, who has highlighted that ties between both countries are already moving “on the right path”, has stressed the importance of reducing economic and trade disputes between the two. Thus, he has also addressed the Australian Parliament, where he has admitted that there are still “differences” to be resolved, according to information collected by the newspaper ‘South China Morning Post’.

In this sense, he has referred to existing diplomatic disputes, especially regarding the Indo-Pacific region, where they pursue similar interests. For his part, Albanese has stated that “many times they will not agree”, but has claimed the possibility of cooperating on some issues, according to a statement.

One of the main obstacles in the relationship between Australia and China is the arrest of the writer and dissident Yang Henjun – who also has Australian nationality -, imprisoned in the Asian giant. Australia has described this measure on several occasions as “unacceptable.”

The Chinese Justice has suspended for the moment the death sentence against Yang, found guilty of espionage, charges that according to the Australian Government are of a “political” nature.

However, Li took the opportunity to announce that Australian citizens will no longer need a visa to enter the country, a sign of the supposed rapprochement between the parties.

The relationship between the parties was already hit a few years ago when the former Prime Minister of Australia, Scott Morrison, asked that the origin of the coronavirus be investigated, the first case of which was detected in 2019 in the Chinese city of Wuhan.