AUSTRALIAN Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hailed the significant progress of ties between Australia and China and asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit the country.
Albanese landed in Shanghai on Saturday as part of his official state visit to China from November 4 to 7.
The trip made him the first Australian leader to visit China since 2016 and also marked the 50th anniversary since an Australian prime minister visited the Asian country for the first time in 1973.
He held talks with senior Chinese officials including President Xi Jinping concerning a broad range of international issues.
Albanese said he raised the case of Australian writer and democracy activist Yang Hengjun, who has been detained in China for nearly five years.
Xi on the other hand hailed the meeting as the right path towards improving relations and urged both countries to build relations that promote equality and seek common ground while shelving differences.
Albanese also attended the 6th China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai where he praised China’s economic growth as a key factor in lifting millions of people out of poverty.
The date of Xi’s proposed visit to Australia is still unknown.
Government officials are hopeful that China will remove the remaining restrictions on several Australian export products such as seafood and beef by the end of the year.
