Chinese premier agrees with Australia to ‘manage’ differences

Members of Australia’s Chinese community wait for China’s Premier Li Qiang outside Government House in Canberra. Pic/AFP

Chinese Premier Li Qiang said he had agreed with Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday to properly manage their nations' differences as they emerge from a hostile era in which minister-to-minister contacts were banned and trade barriers cost Australian exporters up to 20 billion Australian dollars (USD 13 billion) a year. Li, Albanese and senior ministers of both administrations met at Parliament House to discuss thorny issues, including trade barriers, conflict between their militaries in international waters and China's desire to invest in critical minerals.

Li, China's most senior leader after President Xi Jinping, arrived in the South Australian state capital of Adelaide on Saturday and the national capital of Canberra late Sunday in the first visit to the country by a Chinese premier in seven years.

Li told reporters that the bilateral relationship was "on the right track of steady improvement and development". "We ... had a candid exchange of views on some differences and disagreements and agreed to properly manage them in a manner befitting our comprehensive strategic partnership," Li said.

$13bN
Total losses suffered by Australian exporters

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