By Brenda Goh
SHANGHAI, China (Reuters) – Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, starting the first visit to China by a leader of his country in seven years, said on Sunday it was “in all our interests” to have a bilateral relationship with dialogue and cooperation.
Australia will continue to work constructively with China, he said in a short speech to the annual China International Import Expo in Shanghai, which was opened by Premier Li Qiang.
Albanese is the first Australian leader to visit China since 2016, part of an effort to patch up relations that had deteriorated over several years due to disputes over Chinese telecoms firm Huawei, espionage and COVID-19.
Before leaving Australia on Saturday, he said his much-anticipated visit to meet with President Xi Jinping and Li marked a “very positive step” in stabilising strained bilateral ties.
(Reporting by Brenda Goh and Martin Quin Pollard; Editing by William Mallard)
