“Well, it's in China's interest to lift all of the sanctions against Australia. And it's in Australia's interest for that to happen as well,” Albanese said during an interview with Sky News on Sunday.
Albanese, whose Labor Party came to power in May, has said that Australia wants good relations with all countries, including China. In fact, besides the foreign ministers’ meeting in Bali, the defense ministers of the two countries also met in Singapore in June, the first official contact between the top defense officials since 2020.
“The sound and steady development of China-Australia relations meets the common interests of the two countries and the two peoples. It is also good for safeguarding peace, stability, development and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a briefing last week.