Key Points
- Anthony Albanese expects China's sanctions on Australian exports will start to lift after his meeting with Xi Jinping.
- But the prime minister warned if the trade restrictions are removed, it won't happen overnight.
- Mr Albanese met with China's president on the sidelines of the G20 in Bali earlier this week.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has expressed confidence the $20 billion trade restrictions imposed on Australia by China will start to lift, after his meeting with President Xi Jinping at a Balinese resort on the sidelines of the G20.
But he said if it does occur, it won't happen overnight.
"It will take a while to see improvement in concrete terms going forward," the Mr Albanese told SBS News in Bangkok at the close of his summit season.
including wine, barley, lobsters, beef, coal, cotton, and timber, after recent tensions over a range of issues.
No immediate lift to China sanctions: Albanese
Mr Albanese said the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China just before Christmas this year would be an important milestone, hinting it may coincide with a partial release of trade blockages.
"In the lead up to that event, it’s an opportunity to improve and stabilise the relationship," he said.
The anniversary will officially take place on 21 December.
"What we need to do is continue to see improvements in the relationship. I want to see the barriers that are there to Australian trade, lifted," Mr Albanese said.
Mr Albanese has also stepped out the process he is expecting to unfold, arguing there was never going to be an immediate result from .
"It's not the way that the Chinese system works," he said.
"The way that the system works is that the bureaucracy in China will have seen the different change in relations, the fact that there is contact between Australia and China.
"Those messages will go down through the system."
Mr Albanese used the example of New Zealand to draw a distinction about how different nations operate.
"It's not like a discussion between Australia and New Zealand where you walk out of the room with an agreement between leaders and it changes instantly."
The one-on-one meeting between Mr Albanese and Mr Xi was the first formal interaction at a leader level in six years. The last time, Mr Xi met Malcolm Turnbull in Germany on the sidelines of the G20 in 2016.
'This is a win-win for both': PM
China is Australia's largest trading partner, but the relationship soured badly over recent years when Chinese company Huawei was banned from participating in the 5G network and the former Morrison government called for an investigation into the origins of COVID-19.
The value of Australia's trade with China dipped to $13 billion in March this year, compared to a high of $19 billion in July 2021, according to Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade figures.
Under former prime minister Scott Morrison, Chinese ministers refused to take calls from Australian counterparts.
Mr Albanese said China also needed Australia as a trading partner, and it was not a one-way relationship.
"This is a win-win that's on the table - that is what we are pursuing," he said.
"We need to step forward together in Australia's interests, but also in China's interests."
Australia not yet following NZ with trade delegation to China
New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern also held talks with the Chinese president during the APEC events and has already confirmed she's planning a trip to China with a trade delegation.
But Mr Albanese said it wasn't possible to compare, as New Zealand didn't have the same diplomatic problems with China in recent years.
He would not be drawn on whether he could see himself travelling to China in the next year.
"I am focused on those first steps, not so much a visit that might occur in the future."
