Foreign Minister Marise Payne to visit Beijing on Thursday

Marise Payne ­this week becomes the first Australian ­foreign minister to visit China in three years as President Xi commits to opening up its economy.

Foreign Minister Senator Marise Payne. Picture Kym Smith

Marise Payne this week will ­become the first Australian ­foreign minister to visit China in almost three years, signalling a thaw in diplomatic relations as President Xi Jinping commits his country to opening up its economy.

China’s Foreign Ministry last night announced that Senator Payne had been invited for a two-day visit to ­Beijing, starting on Thursday, ­including talks with China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

The visit — the first by an Australian foreign minister since Julie Bishop visited Beijing in February 2016 — marks a major upturn in Australia-China ­relations after more than a year of tensions that sparked fears they could harm Australia’s $150 billion-a-year trade with the world’s second-largest economy.

Foreign Ministry spokes­woman Hua Chunying said Senator Payne and Mr Wang met during a UN conference in New York in August and “exchanged opinions in depth”.

“They have reached an ­important consensus that the two countries should deepen co-­operation and promote relations based on mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit,” she said.

The invitation, which could pave the way for a visit to China by Scott Morrison, comes as Mr Xi uses this week’s import expo in Shanghai as a major diplomatic initiative, with leaders and ministers ­from 18 nations visiting the event.

“It is our sincere commitment to open the Chinese market,” Mr Xi said in a speech to a VIP audience that included Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Australian Trade Minister Simon Birmingham.

“China’s door will never be closed, it will only open still wider,” he said. “China will not stop its efforts to have a higher quality opening up.”

Mr Xi announced a package of measures designed to boost ­imports, including reducing ­tariffs, boosting e-commerce, stream­lining Customs processing, and encouraging foreign ­investment in education, healthcare and medical services.

He said China would be ­importing $40 billion worth of goods and services over the next 15 years.

While not mentioning Donald Trump by name, Mr Xi took ­several sideswipes at the US President.

“Beggar-thy-neighbour policies, isolation and seclusion will result in stagnation and an ­unhealthy world economy,” the Chinese President said.

“Openness brings progress, seclusion leads to backwardness.

“Practices of the law of the ­jungle and ‘winner takes all’ only represent a dead end. Inclusive growth for all is surely the right way forward.”

Mr Xi said the world’s recovery from the global economic ­crisis was still “unstable”.

In another pointed reference to the US, he said: “All countries should make efforts to improve their own business environment and to solve their own problems.

“Please don’t always beautify your own and point fingers at ­others — please don’t always shine a spotlight to examine ­others but not yourself.”

A visit to China by the Prime Minister before the end of the year would keep with the aspirations of the Australia-China strategic partnership agreement reached in 2014, which provided for annual meetings between the leaders of both countries.

Former prime minister Malclom Turnbull visited China for the G20 meeting in Hangzhou in September 2016 and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited Australia in March last year.

Mr Xi and Mr Morrison will meet at the APEC leaders ­meeting in Port Morseby later this month.

Australian representations earlier this year for a visit to China by Ms Bishop, when she was foreign minister, were unable to secure an invitation.

Senator Birmingham said he welcomed Mr Xi’s “strong commitment to China’s ongoing reform and opening up, and his remarks around working with others to preserve and strengthen the rules-based multilateral trading system”.

He said the Shanghai import expo showed there were “continuing opportunities for Australian companies from China’s economic transition and opening up”.

“I particularly welcome President Xi’s announcement of new market access improvements in the education and health sectors, which could provide further opportunities for Australian higher education providers and health services companies to operate in China,” he said.

Senator Birmingham said he was also pleased to hear Mr Xi’s “commitment to improving the system of intellectual property protection and enforcement in China”.

“This has been a persistent irritation for foreign companies, including Australian companies over many years, and President Xi’s signal in this regard is an encouraging development,” Senator Birmingham said.

Moves to reset the relationship between Australia and China, were under way in the final days of the Turnbull government, including a speech by Mr Turnbull to the University of NSW.

Mr Morrison’s comments on China have been greeted with some positive responses in Beijing.

China appears keen to use the change of prime ministership to improve relations that sank to a low last November after comments by Mr Turnbull using a quote from Chairman Mao as part of his explanation for introducing tighter new security laws.

While Senator Payne met Mr Wang at the UN in August, just after she became Foreign Minister, a visit to Beijing is a crucial step in getting ties back on track and paving the way for a visit by the Prime Minister.

In their comments at the time, Chinese officials described that meeting as taking place at Australia’s request, rather than their invitation.