One thing China must do for Australia after ‘first step’ in building stronger relations

Anthony Albanese says a good first step has been made in building a stronger relationship with China – but now it’s Beijing’s turn.

Anthony Albanese has called for China to remove its tough sanctions on Australian exports as the two countries start the “long, slow process” to build a better bilateral relationship.

Defence Minister Richard Marles met with his Chinese counterpart on the sidelines of the Shangri-La defence conference in Singapore on the weekend in what was the first ministerial contact between Beijing and Canberra since early 2020.

But, on the back of the discussions, Beijing suggested Australia needed to take “concrete actions” to improve relations.

The Prime Minister on Tuesday renewed calls for China to remove its tough sanctions on Australian wine, barley and other goods to allow the two countries to really form a stronger diplomatic relationship.

“It is China that have imposed sanctions on Australia,” Mr Albanese said.

“They need to remove those sanctions in order to improve relations between Australia and China.

“It’s a good thing that Richard Marles (was able to meet) with his counterpart … We do need to engage with each other and that’s a positive step. But it’s China that has imposed sanctions, it’s China that has changed and it’s China that needs to remove those sanctions.

“There is no reason for them to be there … Those sanctions hurt Australia but they also hurt China.”

Mr Albanese said while the dialogue had been “missing” in the last few years under the Morrison government, there needed to be “concrete steps” from China.

Defence Minister Richard Marles met with his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore. Picture: Australian Department of Defence / AFP

Mr Marles has described the hour-long conversation as a “full and frank” discussion in which Australia voiced its concerns about recent military actions of Beijing – including an attack on an aircraft last month.

“I think it’s important to understand that this was just the first step, and there’s a long way to go,” Mr Marles told the Nine Network.

“Making sure that our two countries are talking is critically important. It was a full and frank discussion.

“It was difficult terrain to traverse, but the meeting began and finished with both of us feeling that we wanted to get the broader bilateral relationship to a better place.

“The door is open now for us to move further down this path. It’s going to be a slow process, but the first step has been taken.”

The rise of China’s military might was also the focus of the discussion and will continue to be a focus of Mr Marles’ tour of Asia now that he is in Tokyo.

Mr Marles has travelled to Japan where he will continue discussions with his Tokyo counterpart. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Crosling

While Australia has made historic inroads with China, which follows 2½ years of tough trade sanctions in part brought about by the former government’s commitment to probe the origins of Covid-19, Mr Marles said Canberra would not back down from its defence strategy.

“We will continue to assert our rights in places like the South China Sea and make sure that we are working with the countries of the Pacific to be their natural partner of choice,” Mr Marles said.

“But at the same time, China is our largest trading partner. We’ve got to work through this with all the complexity.

“At the heart of it, you need to have dialogue … professional diplomacy.

“While the substantive position of the government in relation to our national interest hasn’t changed, the tone has.”

While in Tokyo, Mr Marles will spend time with his Japanese counterpart, a relationship he sees as “fundamentally important”.

“We’re building this relationship with Japan on its own terms and it’s never been more important. China is seeking to shape the world around it in a way that it has not done before,” he said.

“I can’t really think of a more important relationship that we have really than that of Japan.”