Australian and Chinese leaders seek to boost trade

Australia and China are working to strengthen trade ties despite disagreements over security and human rights

BEIJING -- The leaders of Australia and China sought to deepen trade ties despite their differences over regional security and human rights at talks Tuesday in the Chinese capital.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping told Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese that seeking common ground while setting aside differences is in line with "the fundamental interests of our two countries and our two peoples.”

Albanese concurred with Xi's remark, saying “That approach has indeed produced very positive benefits for both Australia and for China.”

Australia, like many countries in the Asia-Pacific region, is caught between China and the United States. Its economy is heavily dependent on exports to China, including iron ore for the steel industry. It also shares America's concerns with China’s human rights record and its growing military activity in the Pacific, including in waters near Australia.

Albanese has sought to repair Australia's relationship with China since his election in 2022.

“One in four of our jobs depends upon trade,” he said at a news conference in Shanghai on Monday. He noted Australia’s efforts to diversify its trade by expanding ties with Southeast Asian nations such as Indonesia and Singapore.

Albanese is in Beijing at the midpoint of a weeklong trip to China that started in Shanghai, China’s commercial capital, where government and business leaders from the two countries discussed deepening cooperation in tourism and reducing carbon emissions in iron ore mining and steel production.