Chinese FM Slams Former Aussie Gov’t for ‘Difficult’ Ties in First Meeting With Aussie FM In 3 Years

The meeting between Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Bali was the first meeting between the two countries' top diplomats in three years. Last month, the defense ministers of both the nations also held their first face-to-face meeting after a hiatus of three years.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has blamed the previous Scott Morrison government for “difficult” ties between Canberra and Beijing, as he met his Australian counterpart Penny Wong on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Bali on November 8.

According to a summary of the meeting released by the Chinese foreign ministry late on Saturday evening, Wang said that the former Australian government saw Beijing as an “adversary” and even a “threat”.

“China hopes Australia will improve bilateral ties by seeing China as a partner rather than an adversary, getting along well while reserving differences, not targeting or being subject to third parties and building a positive and pragmatic foundation of public support," the Chinese foreign ministry statement reads.

Bilateral ties between Canberra and its largest trading partner have been particularly strained since Morrison called for an independent probe into the origins of COVID-19 in 2020, triggering a spate of Chinese economic sanctions against Australian imports including coal, barley and wine.

Bilateral relations deteriorated further after Australia announced its plan to develop nuclear attack submarines (SSNs) using American and British technology under the AUKUS pact, unveiled last September.

Beijing has accused the US-led pact of “inciting” an arms race in the region.

Then, the Sino-Solomon pact unveiled in April this year stoked fears about a potential Chinese military base in the Pacific nation. Australia, along with the US, has expressed concerns over Beijing’s outreach towards the smaller Pacific Island Nations (PINs) as well as its growing influence in the neighborhood.

The US and its two Commonwealth treaty allies, Australia and New Zealand, have been the pre-eminent powers in the South Pacific since World War II.

During the federal election campaign in the lead up to voting in May, former Australian Defense Minister Peter Dutton even went to the extent of calling for “war preparations” with Beijing, which many observers saw as a ploy to drum up political support by hyping the ‘China threat’.

Australia Wants Ties With China to Be ‘Stabilized’, Says Foreign Minister

An official release by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) on November 8 after the meeting in Bali said that it was “our countries’ interests for the relationship to be stabilized.”

“Australia and China have gained much through the strength of our economic and people-to-people ties,” the statement read.

“The Australian Government will always seek to resolve issues calmly and consistently under our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and in accordance with our national interests,” it added.

PM Albanese has described the foreign ministers’ meeting as the “first step” in normalizing ties between the two countries.

“I have said before that with the relationship with China, we should cooperate where we can, but we'll stand up for Australian values where we must. It is a good thing that the Foreign Ministers of Australia and China have met and had a discussion,” Albanese said on Saturday.