Penny Wong will travel to China this week to try and repair relations with the superpower after a diplomatic freeze
- Foreign affairs minister Penny Wong will fly to China this week to repair relations
Penny Wong will travel to China this week to make the first ministerial visit since the communist superpower froze diplomatic relations with Australia
This month marks the 50th anniversary of the formation of diplomatic relations between the two nations.
Ties with China were established by former Labor prime minister Gough Whitlam in 1972.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, last November in a bid to ease tensions with Australia’s largest trading partner.
Foreign Affairs minister Penny Wong will fly over to China this week to open up a dialogue
It was announced on Monday that Ms Wong was scheduled to fly over to China to meet with her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.
The foreign affairs minister is expected to arrive in Beijing on Tuesday.
A statement from the prime minister’s office read: ‘Building on the recent constructive meeting between prime minister Albanese and president Xi in Bali on the sidelines of the G20 Summit, tomorrow foreign minister Penny Wong will travel to Beijing at the invitation of the People’s Republic of China to meet China’s state councilor and minister of foreign affairs, Wang Yi, and hold the 6th Australia–China Foreign and Strategic Dialogue.’
This dialogue was last held between both countries in 2018 when former Liberal foreign affairs minister Marise Payne flew to Beijing.
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