The Australian government announced that Foreign Minister Penny Wong will travel to China tomorrow, Tuesday, for the first visit of its kind in 4 years, indicating a further improvement in the relationship between Beijing and Canberra.
Wong's visit marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, where she will meet with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
Announcing the visit, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that his country "seeks to establish stable relations with China, and we will cooperate where we can and disagree where we must."
The last official visit by an Australian foreign minister to Beijing was in 2018, and since then relations between Australia and its main trading partner China have begun to deteriorate.
controversial issues
The two countries differ over political and human rights issues, particularly China's extraterritorial activity, widespread human rights violations in Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Tibet, and the role of the United States in the Asia-Pacific region.
What angered Beijing's leaders was Australia's decision to ban Huawei, impose sanctions on it, and prevent it from operating the fifth generation network in the country, in addition to Canberra's continuous calls to investigate the origin of the Corona virus.
Beijing responded by imposing sanctions on a range of Australian goods and freezing high-level contacts, but the relationship has warmed since the Australian prime minister met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Bali in November.
