‘I’m sorry’: Chinese ambassador expresses trade ban regret

China’s chief diplomat in Australia has expressed regret at Beijing’s crippling former restrictions on Australian exports, as he urged the nation not to let Donald Trump’s US election victory upend its improved relationship with China.

With Trump about to return to the White House with a promise to impose sweeping tariffs on Chinese imports, Chinese ambassador Xiao Qian said it was more important than ever for Australia and China to deepen their economic ties after years of turbulence.

Chinese ambassador Xiao Qian said he regretted the imposition of trade restrictions on Australian goods.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Despite improved trading ties, troublespots remain in the bilateral relationship, with Xiao calling on the federal government to be more welcoming towards students from China and expressing dismay that many Australians regard China as a military threat.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, who has noticeably softened his rhetoric on China, would be welcome to visit the country next year regardless of the federal election result, Xiao said at a press conference at the Chinese embassy in Canberra.

Xiao used the event, held to mark the 10th anniversary of China and Australia designating their relationship a comprehensive strategic partnership, to celebrate the “complete turnaround” in bilateral relations since Labor’s 2022 election victory.

“We are friends, we are not foes. We are partners, we are not rivals,” he said, declaring a relationship that had been “derailed” was now back on the right track.

Asked about restrictions China imposed on $20 billion of Australian goods in 2020, which have been progressively lifted since Prime Minister Anthony Albanese came to power, Xiao said: “I regret it happened.”

He later said: “I’m sorry to say it happened.”

Albanese announced in October he had struck an agreement with Chinese Premier Li Qiang to reopen exports of Australian live lobsters, lifting the final block in China’s trade embargo on an array of Australian exports.

Xiao urged the nations to take their economic relationship to the next level through trade on advanced technologies such as green energy, artificial intelligence and electric vehicles – an ambition that may prove complicated because of Australian national security concerns.

He also appealed for Australia to be “more friendly” towards Chinese citizens wanting to study here, saying that hopeful students had written to him in frustration about waiting for eight months to learn if they would be granted a visa by Australian authorities.

Chinese students, who make up almost a quarter of Australia’s international education market, would be hard hit by any moves to cap international enrolments.

The Coalition and Greens teamed up last week to block the government’s bid to cap international student enrolments at 270,000, but both major parties will go to the next federal election with a plan to slash migration by reducing foreign student numbers.

Asked about the impact of Trump’s election victory on the Australia-China relationship, Xiao said there was “no reason for us to compromise our respective national interests for the sake of a third party”.

“I think the first and most important thing for us to do perhaps is to continue the good relation on momentum between our two countries and see what we can do together to promote global trade instead of compromising our respective national interest and our common interest,” Xiao said.

Trump threatened on Tuesday to add another 10 per cent tariff on all Chinese goods on the first day of his presidency, while still threatening a 60 per cent tariff on imports from China.

Xiao lamented that Australia and China no longer conducted joint military exercises, as they did as recently as 2019.

Australians should not regard China as a military threat, he said, expressing concern that the US, Australia and Japan’s decision to hold regular joint military exercises in the Top End was aimed at pushing back on China.

While insisting that “China is becoming stronger” and would be a major strategic player in the Indo-Pacific, he said Beijing did not have any plans to open a military base in the Pacific.

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