Both issues were raised directly by Wong in his meeting with Wang on Friday, the first formal discussion between Australian and Chinese foreign ministers since September 2019.
Wang offered a vague four-point proposal to fix relations between the two governments.
“First, we must insist on treating China as a partner rather than as an opponent,” he said.
“Secondly, we have to adhere to the way we get along with the search for points in common while reserving the differences. Third, we must insist on not addressing third parties. Fourth, we must adhere to the construction of a positive and pragmatic social base of public opinion. “
Birmingham said China had breached the China-Australia free trade agreement by imposing sanctions. “Instead of setting conditions for Australia, the Chinese government should cease its unjustified punishment of Australian companies,” he said.
Birmingham said the test of the new dialogue with Beijing will be in the outcome of the meetings.
“The test here over time is whether we see an improvement in relation to the elimination of trade sanctions,” he said.
“It will also be a test in terms of the treatment of individual Australian citizens who have been unjustly detained and charged in ways we need to make sure that transparent justice takes place.”
The Chinese public’s view of the Chinese government has collapsed under the weight of the ongoing diplomatic dispute. A survey by the Lowy Institute in June found that confidence in China had fallen to 12%, from 52% in 2018.
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The Chinese embassy has previously blamed the negative media coverage of the world’s second-largest economy for the fall and has demanded that the Australian government control independent think tanks and news coverage to reverse public opinion.
“Australians see China’s foreign policy as a critical threat,” Lowy Institute executive director Michael Fullilove said in the June report. “Their confidence in China continues to fall and, in a dramatic change, three-quarters of Australians see China as a military threat to Australia in the coming years.”
Wang said there was an opportunity for Australia and China to collaborate in the region ahead of the Pacific Islands Forum leader meeting in Fiji this week. China’s ambitions in the Pacific will play a key role in the forum after reaching a security agreement with the Solomon Islands but failed to reach an agreement across the region in May.
“China has carried out trilateral cooperation with Australia, New Zealand and other countries in the South Pacific region and has achieved positive results,” Wang said. “China is willing to play to their respective advantages to achieve a win-win.”
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The Albanian government has maintained that trade restrictions on Australian exports should be lifted if the relationship is to recover.
Wong said Saturday that his meeting with Wang was the first step in stabilizing the relationship.
“We are a government and a nation that has made certain decisions based on our national interest, our national security and our sovereignty and we will not resist,” he said.
“But we believe it is in our interest, and we will continue to say in China’s interests, that the relationship will stabilize. This will take time, effort, work and some nuances.”