Foreign Minister Penny Wong will travel to Beijing to mark the 50th anniversary of Australia-China diplomatic relations.
Senator Wong has been invited by the Chinese government to meet with her counterpart Wang Yi and hold the sixth Australia-China Foreign and Strategic Dialogue which was last held in 2018.
It signals a step forward in diplomatic relations and follows a meeting between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit in November.
Trade is expected to be high on the agenda, as Australia continues its push for China to remove billions of dollars in sanctions which have been in place since 2020.
In a joint statement, Albanese and Senator Wong recognised former Labor Prime Minister Gough Whitlam’s “bold” decision in 1972 to recognise the importance of engagement and cooperation between Australia and China.
“In the decades since China has grown to become one of the world’s largest economies and Australia’s largest trading partner,” the statement said.
“Australia seeks a stable relationship with China; we will cooperate where we can, disagree where we must, and engage in the national interest.”
