Li, Albanese meet in ASEAN in new sign of thawing relations

Jakarta, Sep 7 (EFE).- Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met Thursday on the sidelines of the leaders’ summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a new sign of the thaw in bilateral relations.

“The cooperation and engagement between our two countries is always improved when there is a dialogue, when there is discussion, that is how you get mutual agreement, mutual respect and advance the interests of both our nations,” Albanese said after the meeting.

The ASEAN leaders’ forum was established in 1967 and is made up of Myanmar, Brunei, Cambodia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. It began its annual summit Tuesday until Thursday in Jakarta, with other invited leaders.

“I have discussed a number of issues of importance to Australia and bilaterally, including remaining impediments to trade, consular cases and human rights. We have discussed and shared perspectives on regional and international security issues,” Albanese added.

The relationship between China and Australia began to worsen in 2017, when Canberra exposed Chinese interference in Australian politics, and the following year prohibited the implementation of 5G telephone networks by Chinese companies for security reasons.

In 2020, then-Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, requested an international investigation into the origin of Covid-19, which was criticized by China, Australia’s main trading partner, which reacted by increasing tariffs on Australian products such as barley, wine, coal and wood, among others.

Relations started to improve since the Labor Party arrived in Australia in 2022, and Chinese authorities last month removed the 80.5 percent tariffs it imposed on Australian barley.

“I have told Premier Li that we will continue to cooperate where we can and disagree where we must,” Albanese added. EFE

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