Ministry hopes Australia will work at better ties with China

China hopes Australia can meet Beijing halfway and make positive efforts to improve cooperation and mutual trust, a foreign ministry spokesman said Thursday after Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull conceded “some tension” in relations.

China always persists in developing friendly relations with nations on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence that include mutual respect and non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a daily briefing.

Turnbull said Thursday that the country’s legislation aimed at preventing foreign interference in politics had soured ties with China, Reuters reported.

“I would say that there’s obviously been, there’s clearly been some tension in the relationship following the introduction of our legislation about foreign interference,” Turnbull was quoted as saying by the Washington Post.

Any statement criticizing China for interfering or infiltrating other countries is completely groundless, and we expect relevant parties to “respect the truth and hold a correct view on China’s development,” Geng said.

Geng also slammed reports saying this week China had denied visas to Australian government officials to attend a major annual trade show. “They are nonsensical. Such a thing did not ever exist,” Geng said.