On the morning of September 7, 2023 local time, Premier Li Qiang of the State Council met with Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese on the sidelines of leaders’ meetings on East Asia cooperation in Jakarta.

Li Qiang said that last November, President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese held a meeting in Bali of Indonesia, and reached a series of important common understandings. Over the past year, with the joint efforts of both sides, China-Australia relations have continued to show positive momentum of improvement. A sound and stable China-Australia relationship is in line with the fundamental interests and common aspirations of the two peoples. China is ready to work with Australia to restart and resume exchanges in various fields, and continue to promote institutional dialogues and consultations in such fields as diplomacy, economy and trade, education and consular affairs, so as to provide solid support for the improvement and development of bilateral relations. Adhering to seeking common development through sharing opportunities, China will continue to expand high-standard opening-up, and provide a bigger market for all countries in the world, including Australia. Li Qiang hopes that Australia will adopt an objective and fair attitude towards Chinese enterprises’ investment and operation in Australia. The two sides should properly handle differences in the spirit of mutual respect, seeking common ground while reserving differences, and mutual benefit and win-win results, so as to promote further improvement and development of bilateral relations. Noting that the Asia-Pacific region is the common home of China and Australia, Li Qiang said that China is ready to work with Australia to maintain peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region.

Anthony Albanese said that the Australia-China relationship is of great importance. Australia is encouraged by the progress achieved in bilateral relations and is ready to work with China to promote dialogue and exchanges in the spirit of mutual respect, deepen cooperation in economic, trade, and other fields, expand people-to-people and cultural exchanges, properly manage differences, and build a stable and constructive Australia-China relationship for the benefit of the two peoples. Australia is ready to strengthen coordination and cooperation with China in international affairs and jointly address global challenges such as climate change.

Wu Zhenglong, among others, attended the meeting.