Xi Jinping has acknowledged the ‘twists and turns’ in China’s tumultuous relationship with Australia as he met with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese ahead of the G20 summit in Brazil.
It was the third formal talks between the two leaders since Mr Albanese took office in 2022, after tense relations between China and his predecessor Scott Morrison.
Mr Albanese met with President Xi at the Chinese leader’s hotel in Rio de Janeiro on Monday before the pair arrived at the two-day G20 summit.
The talks marked 10 years to the day since the two countries signed a comprehensive strategic partnership put in place by then prime minister Tony Abbott during President Xi’s visit to Australia.
Later at the summit, President Xi noted the ‘turnaround’ in relations between the two countries, referencing trade sanctions Beijing implemented in response to perceived slights from Australia, including a call to investigate the origins of Covid-19.
The meeting followed Beijing’s state-owned newspaper China Daily praising Prime Minister Albanese as a world leader that others from the West should try to emulate.
‘Over the past decade, we have made some progress in China-Australia relations and also witnessed some twists and terms,’ President Xi said on Monday.
‘That trajectory has many inspirations to offer… now, our relations have realised a turnaround and continue to grow, bringing tangible benefits to our two peoples. So this is the result of our collective hard work in the same direction, and should be maintained with great care.
Anthony Albanese met with China’s President Xi Jinping ahead of the G20 summit in Brazil
Mr Albanese is pictured at the meeting with China’s President Xi in Brazil on Monday
‘I wish to work with you, Mr Prime Minister, to make our comprehensive strategic partnership more mature, stable and fruitful, and inject more stability and certainty to the region and the wider world.’
Mr Albanese thanked President Xi for hosting him in Beijing last year and welcomed the fact that ‘leaders’ meetings had ‘recommenced’ between the two countries.
The Prime Minister also took to X to share footage of the two leaders shaking hands and declared how stabilising relations in the interests of both nations.
‘Dialogue is critical, and we’ve made encouraging progress. Trade is flowing more freely. And that brings benefits to both countries, and to people and businesses on both sides,’ Mr Albanese wrote.
‘Our approach will remain patient, calibrated and deliberate. It is important that we have direct discussions on the issues that matter to us, and to the stability and prosperity of our region.’
The glowing editorial in the China Daily last Thursday complimented Australia for ‘waking up’ about the importance of China and praising Mr Albanese for his ‘strategic autonomy’.
‘Australia’s ties with China deteriorated when the previous Australian government fell under Washington’s anti-China spell,’ the editorial read.
‘But Canberra has woken up to the significance of those ties under the Albanese government and set out repairing them.’
President Xi is pictured at the meeting between the Chinese president and Anthony Albanese
Mr Albanese was later seen greeting world leaders at the G20 Summit 2024 at Museu de Arte Moderna in Rio de Janeiro
But Mr Albanese said his government had ‘not changed our position on any of the key differences that we have’ with China.
Instead, the government had worked to rebuild trade relations to boost Australia’s economic prosperity and job creation.
‘We continue to explore opportunities for practical co-operation in areas of shared interest, including on our energy transition and climate change,’ Mr Albanese said.
‘Our whole region will benefit from the prosperity that can flow from peace, security and stability in our region.
‘That is why our direct discussions to build deeper understanding on the issues that matter to us are so important.’
President Xi hopes to get countries such as Australia on his side amid the potential of a tariff war with the US once Donald Trump becomes the American president again in January.
Trump has threatened to put 60 per cent tariffs on Chinese imports and tariffs of up to 20 per cent on all other imports in an ‘America first’ policy.
Mr Albanese will have to be careful not to upset either China or the US as the world waits to see if Trump will do exactly as he has vowed or if there will be some room for manoeuvre.
Under the watch of the Labor government since May 2022, China has lifted bans on almost $20billion worth of Australian products, which had been imposed under the previous Coalition administration under Mr Morrison.
Anthony Albanese and his fiancee Jodie Haydon (pictured) arrived in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday night local time
The Prime Minister and Ms Haydon are pictured attending Sunday mass at the Catholic Cathedral Metropolitana de São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro
Addressing a meeting about hunger and poverty in Rio de Janeiro, Mr Albanese linked the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East to food shortages, high inflation and poverty.
At the session, held on Tuesday morning Australian time, Mr Albanese said that in times of ‘global turmoil’ it is ‘always those who have the least who are hurt the most’.
‘While peace alone does not guarantee prosperity – conflict always brings poverty… We see that in the shocking loss of innocent life in the Middle East.
‘We see it in the ongoing toll that Russia’s invasion is taking on the brave people of Ukraine.’
The Prime Minister said G20 summit of the leaders of the world’s 20 biggest economies, including Australia, offered a ‘vital opportunity’ for the international community to ‘call for a de-escalation of the violence in the Middle East’.
He said it presents the chance to ‘condemn the illegal and immoral actions’ of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Mr Albanese also used his speech to condemn North Korea – an ally of China – which he said is sending soldiers to fight in the Ukraine war ‘while its own people starve’.
The Prime Minister urged the other world leaders there not to ‘lose sight’ of the effect that worldwide economic challenges have on people in their ‘daily lives’.
Mr Albanese and his fiance Jodie Haydon arrived in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday night local time.
Pictures released by the Prime Minister’s office showed them walking around the city and attending Sunday mass at the Catholic Cathedral Metropolitana de São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro.
Mr Albanese will also have one-on-one meetings with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in the coming days.
Before flying to Rio de Janeiro for the G20 meeting, he was in Lima, Peru for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
From Lima, Mr Albanese tweeted that ‘More trade means more jobs. That’s what I’m promoting here at APEC and next week at the G20.’
