Chinese Premier Li Qiang (right) meets with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the sidelines of the leaders' meetings on East Asia cooperation in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sept 7, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

JAKARTA – Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday pledged to boost bilateral exchanges, as they stressed the importance of relations between the two countries.

Li and Albanese met on the sidelines of the leaders' meetings on East Asia cooperation held in Jakarta, namely the 26th China-ASEAN Summit, the 26th ASEAN Plus Three Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit. It was also their first meeting.

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Last November, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Albanese in Bali, Indonesia, reaching a series of important consensuses, said the premier.

Li Qiang said a sound and stable China-Australia relationship serves the fundamental interests and common aspirations of the two peoples

China-Australia relations, he said, have maintained a positive momentum of improvement thanks to the concerted efforts of both sides over the past year.

He also said that a sound and stable China-Australia relationship serves the fundamental interests and common aspirations of the two peoples.

China is ready to work with Australia to restart and resume bilateral exchanges in various fields, and continue to promote institutional dialogue and consultation in such fields as diplomacy, economy and trade, education and consular affairs to provide solid support for the improvement and development of bilateral relations, said Li.

Seeking common development through sharing opportunities, China will continue to advance high-level opening-up, providing a bigger market for Australia and other countries in the world, Li said, expressing his hope that the Australian side will adopt an objective and fair attitude towards Chinese enterprises' investment and operation in Australia.

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He called on the two sides to properly handle divergences in the spirit of mutual respect, seeking common ground while shelving differences as well as mutual benefit and win-win results, so as to promote the further improvement and development of bilateral relations, Li said.

The Asia-Pacific region is the shared home for China and Australia and the Chinese side is willing to work with Australia to jointly safeguard peace and stability of the region, he added.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the sidelines of the leaders' meetings on East Asia cooperation in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sept 7, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

For his part, Albanese said Australia-China relations are very important. He also said that the Australian side is encouraged by the progress of bilateral relations.

Australia is willing to advance dialogue and exchanges with China in the spirit of mutual respect, deepen cooperation in such fields as economy and trade, expand people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and properly manage differences, so as to build a stable and constructive relationship between the two countries to benefit the two peoples, he said.

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Australia is willing to strengthen coordination and cooperation with China in international affairs and jointly cope with climate change and other global challenges, said Albanese.