China, Australia to jointly promote stable development of strategic partnership

CANBERRA, March 20 (Xinhua) -- China and Australia on Wednesday agreed to promote the stable development of the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership, with strengthening communication and increasing cooperation.

As China-Australia relations are back on the right track, there should be no hesitation, no yawing and no turning back, and bilateral ties should move forward, said visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi while holding the seventh China-Australia Foreign and Strategic Dialogue with his Australian counterpart Penny Wong.

That is in line with common interests of the two peoples and general expectations of regional countries, said Wang, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.

The two countries should work together to establish a more stable, more fruitful strategic partnership, Wang said, pointing to the fact that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership.

He said that ups and downs of the past 10 years have not only shown lessons that need to be learned, but also accumulated experiences that need to be cherished.

It is imperative to insist on mutual respect, mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation, independence, and seeking common ground while reserving differences in developing bilateral relations, according to the Chinese foreign minister.

Wang said that China is willing to work further with Australia to prepare for high-level exchanges, fully restart and make good use of consultation and dialogue mechanisms in various fields, give full play to complementary advantages, consolidate cooperation in the areas of energy, mining, agricultural products, tap potentials of cooperation in new energy, digital economy, green development, climate change and other fields, and continue to make the cake of common interests bigger.

China hopes that Australia will take concrete measures in upholding the principles of market economy and fair competition rules, thus providing a fair, just, transparent and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises to invest and operate in Australia, he said.

Wang called for continued cooperation in education, culture, people-to-people exchanges, tourism, and regional and youth exchanges, in addition to efforts to facilitate personnel exchanges, consolidating the public support for China-Australia relations.

China is willing to enhance communications and mutual understanding with Australia in international and regional affairs and make more contributions to world peace and development, he said.

Wang also elaborated on China's position on the Taiwan question, and on issues related to Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Xizang, and South China Sea.

The two countries should practice the basic norms of international law of respecting national sovereignty and territorial integrity, respect each other's core interests and major concerns, and promote sustained, steady and sound development of bilateral relations, he said.

During the meeting, Wong said that Australia and China have close ties in history, trade and culture, and they are comprehensive strategic partners located in the same region, noting that differences should not define bilateral relations.

The Australian foreign minister said that Australia is pleased to see remarkable progress in bilateral relations in recent years, and is willing to strengthen dialogue and communication with China on the basis of mutual respect, wisely manage differences, leverage complementary advantages, deepen cooperation in economy, trade, culture and other fields, push for the steady development of Australia-China comprehensive strategic partnership, benefit the two peoples and boost regional peace and development.

The two sides agreed to resume and establish dialogues in various fields, increase cooperation between the departments of foreign affairs, the economy and trade, science and technology, education and law enforcement of the two countries, and consider launching dialogues on maritime affairs.

The two sides agreed to take more measures to facilitate personnel exchanges.

The two foreign ministers also exchanged views during the meeting on international and regional issues of common concern.