The Defence Minister is hoping the meeting with his Chinese counterpart will be the 'critical first step' in mending the relationship between Canberra and Beijing amid rising tensions over the Indo-Pacific and the intercept of an Australian aircraft.
Beijing ended diplomatic communications with Canberra in January 2020 and slapped sanctions on barley, beef, wine and other goods after then-prime minister Scott Morrison called for an inquiry into the emergence of COVID-19.
Defence Minister Richard Marles met with his Chinese counterpart General Wei Fenghe in the first face-to-face ministerial meeting in almost three years, signalling a potential end to the long-standing diplomatic freeze. Picture: Sky News Mr Marles raised a number of issues to General Wei, including the intercept of the RAAF aircraft by a Chinese jet in May and Beijing's growing influence in the region. Picture: Liam Kidston
"Our focus is going to be on taking Australia forward and our place in the world in that way and we do in consistent to that want to have a productive relationship with China.
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