Australia to Seek Common Ground with China, Says Head of Delegation

A Chinese paramilitary police officer gestures and speaks over his two-way radio whlie standing at the entrance gate of the Australian embassy in Beijing on July 9, 2020. Nicolas Asfour/AFP via Getty Images

A team of senior Australian representatives from industry, government, academia, media, and the arts will seek to find common ground with their Chinese counterparts as Canberra and Beijing resume bilateral dialogues in Beijing this week.

This will be the first time in three years the talks have been held following the break in diplomatic relations between Australia and China in 2020, following the Australian government’s push for an independent inquiry into the origins of COVID-19.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong revealed in a media release that the talks were an outcome of her meeting with China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing in December 2022 and represent another step towards stabilising Australia’s relationship with Beijing.

“It provides an opportunity for representatives from both countries to discuss our perspectives and how we can grow our cooperation in areas of shared interest,” she said.

Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong (L) bumps elbows with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi during their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting in Nusa Dua on Indonesia's resort island of Bali on July 8, 2022. Johannes P. Christo/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

The delegation from Canberra will be led by former Labor trade minister and now KPMG consultant Craig Emerson.

Mr. Emerson was the creator of the White Paper on Australia in the Asian Century.

He brokered an APEC agreement to limit tariffs on 54 environmental goods to five percent and developed “new pathways” for re-starting the Doha Round of global trade talks that led to an interim agreement in December 2013, following a 20-year break in talks.

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), he will be accompanied by former Coalition Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop and the Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Jan Adams, as well as business and industry leaders.

The delegation will meet with the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) former Minister of Foreign Affairs Li Zhaoxing, who will co-chair and lead the Chinese delegation.

China May Be Reversing Policy Towards Australia

Speaking to ABC Radio National on Sept. 4, Mr. Emerson said he believed the Chinese were changing their approach to Australia and trying to engage more.

This follows a 2020 incident when the Chinese Embassy released a document to Australian media calling on the government to fulfil a list of “14 demands,” including reversing its Huawei 5G ban, and overturning its foreign interference laws.

During the diplomatic fallout, Australian exporters were also subjected to punitive trade measures on premium goods as punishment for calling for an investigation into the origins of COVID-19.

“The Chinese side seems to be reaching out to Australia and does want to have this sort of dialogue,” said Mr. Emerson.

“It not going to be everything; it’s not going to be a negotiating forum. But I can’t remember anything being lost from people talking face to face. Much can be gained, and what we will seek to do is concentrate on areas, what I would call common ground that you know we can whatever difference we have we may state, but we are not going to dwell on them.”

Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell (left) speaks to China's Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao during a meeting via teleconference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on Feb. 6, 2023 as China and Australia move to normalise relations. Lukas Coch - Pool/Getty Images

He also signalled that both delegations would raise difficult issues, including the detention of Chinese-Australians Cheng Lei and Yang Hengjun, who have been imprisoned in China for three and four years, respectively.

“If the Chinese side wants to raise issues, that might be a little bit challenging for us. I would be saying go for it. There no point going along and just being polite to each other,” Mr.Emerson said.