2 days ago
Australian concerns over live fire drill brushed aside in Xi meeting
President Xi Jinping appears to have brushed aside Australia's concerns about the lack of notice given by China ahead of a Chinese military exercise off the Australian coastline earlier this year.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters his meeting with the Chinese leader, held in Beijing on Tuesday, was "constructive" and that he had raised the live fire drill in a manner consistent with his previous public statements.
He said Mr Xi had reiterated China's right to perform exercises.
"I said what I said at the time, which is that it was within international law, there was no breach of international law by China in that, but that we were concerned about the notice and the ways that it happened, including the live fire exercises," he said.
"In response, of course … President Xi Jinping said that China engaged in exercises just as Australia engages in exercises."
Mr Albanese said he also raised the case of Australian man Yang Hengjun, who is detained in a Chinese prison on spying charges he has long denied and whose health is ailing.
"I raised the case. You wouldn't expect there to be an immediate outcome, and that is not the way things work. The way it works is by that patient, calibrated advocacy, what Australians do, what my government does," he said.
The PM said the ownership of the Port of Darwin was not raised. Asked whether Donald Trump or US trade tariffs had been discussed, he said both leaders had asserted the importance of international trade.
Earlier on Tuesday, the pair made public remarks in Beijing's Great Hall of the People prior to a closed-door meeting and a lunch attended by Mr Albanese's fiancee, Jodie Haydon, and China's First Lady, Peng Liyuan.
In his remarks, Mr Xi welcomed an improvement in relations between the two countries since what he called "the setback", an apparent reference to the cooling of bilateral ties during the Morrison government.
"The China–Australia relationship has [risen] from the setback and turned around, bringing tangible benefits to the Chinese and Australian peoples," he said.
"No matter how the international landscape may evolve, we should uphold this overall direction unswervingly."
In his own remarks, Mr Albanese emphasised economic ties and said it was important to have "direct discussions on the issues that matter to us, and to the stability and prosperity of our region."
"Australia values our relationship with China and will continue to approach it in a calm and consistent manner, guided by our national interest, which we regard very much as the relationship being positive," he said.
The meeting came on the third full day of the PM's six-day trip to the country, his second as prime minister, which began in Shanghai.
