PM Albanese Calls The Meeting With President Xi Will Be Positive In The Midst Of Tensions In China-Australia Relations

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. (Twitter/@AlboMP)

JAKARTA - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday the meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping would be a positive development after relations between the two countries have been strained in recent years.

PM Albanese will attend the G20 Summit in Bali, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Bangkok and the East Asian Summit in Cambodia, his office said.

Meanwhile, President Xi is said to be attending the G20 summit, but it is unclear if he will attend another meeting in the region to be attended by PM Albanese.

"I have made it very clear, dialogue is a good thing, and if the meeting is arranged with President Xi, then it will be a positive thing," PM Albanese told a news conference in Canberra.

"We held various meetings but it is not final," he added.

The leaders of the last two countries met when Alba's predecessor Scott Morrison met President Xi at the 2019 G20 summit, according to Australia's Foreign Ministry.

Meanwhile, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi told his Australian counterpart Penny Wong in Tuesday's telephone conversation that countries should address each other's legitimate issues, contributing to tackling global challenges.

The two countries must work to rebuild trust and restore their relations to the right path, a statement from China's Foreign Ministry quoted Foreign Minister Wang as saying.

It is known that diplomatic relations between Australia and China have deteriorated sharply in recent years.

China imposed trade sanctions on some imports from Australia, furious at Canberra's calls for an international investigation into the origins of the coronavirus.

Most recently, Canberra on Wednesday ordered an investigation into reports of Australians, including among Western military pilots who had been approached to help train China's military.