China’s top diplomat meets former Australian PM for controversial sitdown
China’s top diplomat capped his trip to Australia on Thursday with one of the most controversial meetings on his agenda, hosting outspoken exPrime Minister Paul Keating at the Chinese consulate in Sydney.
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi spent an hour and five minutes with Mr. Keating, a veteran centreleft leader who has pilloried his own party in government for stirring with Beijing.
In a statement, Mr. Keating said the meeting with Mr. Wang discussed “the geostrategic balances and influences in the world”.
Mr. Keating, whose push for deeper ties with Beijing was a central facet of his 1991 to 1996 term, added that the pair talked about Australia’s historic relationship with China.
They also discussed China’s urban development and Mr. Wang’s “productive” meeting with his Aus
The meeting with Wang discussed ‘the geostrategic balances and influences in the world’, Keating said
trouble tralian counterpart Penny Wong on Wednesday.
Mr. Keating said that Mr. Wang “was very positive” about putting bilateral difficulties aside and was encouraged by efforts to restore stability between the two countries.
“He both encouraged and welcomed Australia’s continuing integration with East Asia where he believed Australia’s future lies,” Mr. Keating said.
Mr. Wang’s trip to Australia, the first since 2017, had been pitched as an easing of troubled relations between the two countries.
But there were evident tensions over the highprofile case of an Australian prisoner being held in China, trade and a renewed crackdown on rights in Hong Kong.