Political Lens 2026-04-08    

Li calls for expansion of Sino-Australian trade

China's vast market will remain open to the world, and China is willing to import more high-quality products from Australia, Premier Li Qiang said on Tuesday during a phone conversation with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Li called on China and Australia to speed up the review of their bilateral free trade agreement and discussions on its upgrade to provide stronger institutional support for bilateral cooperation.

He added that China is willing to deepen cooperation with Australia in the areas of clean energy, new energy vehicles, energy storage and carbon reduction, in order to jointly foster new drivers of green growth.

Albanese said that he looks forward to visiting China for the 2026 APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. He added that the steady development of Australia-China relations is particularly important in the current international circumstances, and that his country is ready to manage differences properly in the spirit of mutual respect.