PM Albanese Meets Chinese Premier Li Keqiang Ahead of Potential Meeting with Xi Jinping
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had a brief discussion with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, at a gala dinner for world leaders in Cambodia.
The chat comes amid speculation Mr Albanese could be the first Australian leader in five years to have a formal sit-down meeting with the Chinese President Xi Jinping, at the upcoming G20 meeting in Indonesia or the APEC summit in Bangkok.
Mr Albanese said the informal discussion was “constructive” and “positive”.
“The main area of discussion we had was on the upcoming 50thyear commemoration of Australia’s diplomatic relationship with China,” he said.
“He reminded me that he had written to me congratulating me on my election and that I had responded to him.
“It was a short engagement. It was constructive.”
It has been five years since an Australian prime minister has had a formal meeting with the Chinese president, but Mr Albanese said his door was always open for a meeting with Mr Xi.
“We’ll engage constructively with dialogue with countries that wish to engage with us,” he said.
“I have said that we should cooperate with China where we can and that’s what we’re doing.”
If the meeting comes off, it would be widely viewed as a turning point in the relationship between China and Australia after years of strained ties.
The situation soured soon after Chinese telco Huawei was blocked from any role in the development of Australia’s 5G network, and continued to slide as Beijing imposed trade sanctions on a variety of Australian products.
For a number of years, Australian ministers could not secure phone calls with their Chinese counterparts, let alone face-to-face meetings.
Mr Albanese and Mr Li were seen talking as they arrived at the dinner, hosted by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, for dignitaries attending the ASEAN and East Asia Summits in Phnom Penh.
The Prime Minister’s Office said Mr Albanese also had discussions with US President Joe Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.