Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong will meet her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Bali, Beijing has confirmed.
They will be the first such high-level, face-to-face talks since 2019, in a sign relations between the two nations are thawing.
The ministers will convene outside of the main meeting at around 6 p.m. on Friday, according to confirmation from China’s foreign ministry, the ABC reports.
Ms. Wong stated earlier on Thursday that Australia was willing to communicate with China.
Beijing wants Australia to take steps to mend relations while Canberra wants China to relax trade restrictions on Australian products.
Ms. Wong stated that she will meet with Frank Bainimarama, the prime minister of Fiji, for the first time on Friday.
After touching down in Indonesia on Thursday, she told reporters, “Australian ministers remain open to engagement, we are willing to engage, and that readiness extends to any meeting in the fringes of the G20.”
At the G20 ministerial meeting, Senator Wong supported the idea of the US and Chinese foreign ministers meeting.
Despite their differences, she said, “we would want the two great powers to engage closely if we want greater stability in this world.”
According to Senator Wong, it is in the interests of both countries to stabilize relations between China and Australia.
Together with his New Zealand counterpart, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addressed a trans-Tasman leadership forum on Thursday night.
During a conversation about the situation in Ukraine, Mr. Albanese stated that both nations shared a culture of “standing up to bullies.”
Bullies in the playground will persist if they are given the chance, according to Mr. Albanese.
Regarding the Pacific, Mr. Albanese argued that Australia’s investment in the region needed to be free of conditions.
Someone else will fill the void where there is one, he said.
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern added that when Australia and New Zealand decide to interact with other nations, they should keep in mind the independence and sovereignty of the Pacific region.
Ms. Ardern is in Australia in advance of the Pacific Islands Forum, which will likely include discussions about China’s expanding influence and interest in the region, which will take place next week.
Despite the fact that many countries have an interest in the Indo-Pacific, the region’s national interests should ultimately determine the objectives for international relations, according to her.
Ms. Ardern urged Australia and New Zealand to look for ways to collaborate and cooperate with others rather than intensifying their geopolitical rivalry in the Pacific.
“The Pacific should establish priorities. They should not be subject to pressure. High-quality investments should be made, Ms. Ardern said on Thursday at the Lowy Institute.
“Engagement needs to be consistent; (it) shouldn’t be done just because others are doing it in our area; rather, it should be done because there is a desire to forge enduring and devoted relationships.”
While the security agreement reached by the Solomon Islands and China was alarming, Ms. Ardern said that the country has a sovereign right to make its own choices.
As Ms. Ardern said, “China has relatively long-standing links in the Pacific, just as we have long-standing and profound partnerships.”
“Positioning the Pacific in a way that forces them to “pick sides” would be incorrect.”
‘While we each maintain our independence … we are part of a family, one that is incredibly important to us and central in our decision-making.’
Senator Wong stated that the Australian government thinks Pacific security arrangements are an issue for Pacific governments.
She asserted that each nation in the Pacific islands is sovereignly responsible for determining its own security.
However, it is crucial to recognize that those choices may have an influence on the region, which is why a regional approach to security is so crucial.