Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, the revolutionary founder of the Soviet Union, once said of world affairs, there are times when nothing happens for years, and then everything happens in weeks.

After six years of stasis, mutual acrimony and destruction of trust, suddenly the Australia-China relationship looks very different. Tuesday’s meeting between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and President Xi Jinping has decisively changed the tone of the bilateral relationship. Progress on bilateral issues can now be anticipated on both sides.