Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met on Thursday in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, on the sidelines of the East Asia cooperation leaders' meetings. Their discussions signaled a renewed commitment to advancing the China-Australia comprehensive strategic partnership, highlighting a period of steady progress and increased cooperation between the two nations.
Premier Li emphasized that China-Australia relations have been steadily advancing, with practical cooperation in various fields and more active subnational and people-to-people exchanges. He expressed China's willingness to further strengthen mutual understanding and build a more mature, stable, and fruitful partnership to benefit both peoples and contribute to regional and global peace, stability, and development.
Highlighting the mutually beneficial and win-win nature of their ties, Li stated that China is ready to share more development opportunities with Australia. He called for strengthened exchanges on macroeconomic policies and expanded cooperation in trade and investment, green development, and scientific and technological innovation. Li also assured that China will deepen reforms and promote high-level opening up, creating a first-class, market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized business environment. He welcomed more Australian enterprises to invest in China and hoped that Australia would provide a fair, safe, non-discriminatory, and predictable business environment for Chinese enterprises.
Li further suggested expanding cultural and people-to-people exchanges to consolidate the foundation of bilateral relations. Stressing the common interest in a peaceful, stable, and prosperous Asia-Pacific, he expressed China's readiness to work with Australia to safeguard regional peace and stability.
Prime Minister Albanese acknowledged the positive and stable momentum in Australia-China relations, noting intensive dialogues in diplomatic, economic, and other fields. He expressed willingness to strengthen high-level and all-level dialogue and deepen cooperation in economy and trade, green economy, clean energy, climate change, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges. Albanese reaffirmed Australia's adherence to the one-China policy and expressed a desire to strengthen coordination with China in multilateral arenas to jointly safeguard regional and global peace, stability, and prosperity.
The meeting between the two leaders marks a significant step towards enhancing bilateral ties, with both sides showing commitment to collaboration and mutual development.
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Chinese premier hails recent progress in China-Australia ties
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