Australia wants a constructive relationship with China, Anthony Albanese says but will put its national interest first.
Following his meeting with Foreign Minister Penny Wong on Friday night, Chinese Foreign Ministerfor the collapse in the diplomatic relationship over the past five years.
“We will co-operate with China where we can. I want to build good relations with all countries. But we will stand up for Australia’s interests when we must.”Even though Chinese media reported that Senator Wong told Mr Wang she “would work to remove existing barriers in bilateral relations”, Mr Albanese maintained no concessions had been made.
The meeting between Mr Wang and Senator Wong was the first at the foreign minister level since 2019, but no one should have high expectations.He said it was an unusual breach of practice for the Chinese foreign minister in include comments Senator Wong purportedly made in its read-out of the meeting.“It’s not for him to speak for her. It’s not for China to speak for Australia. It’s not a way to build a trusting relationship if that’s what they want, to effectively verbal your interlocutor.
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