China ready to work with Australia to bring ties back on track: spokesperson

BEIJING, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- China stands ready to work with Australia to rebuild mutual trust and bring bilateral ties back on track, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Wednesday.

Mao's remarks came after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said at a news conference on Tuesday that "trade to China is more than the next three highest trading partners combined," and that it is "in Australia's national interest to have good economic relations and to trade with China."

China and Australia are both important countries in the Asia-Pacific region with highly complementary economies, Mao said at a daily press briefing. "The healthy and stable development of relations between China and Australia is not only in the fundamental interests of the two peoples, but is also conducive to promoting peace, stability and prosperity in the region and the world," she noted.

Mao said that China stands ready to work with Australia to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries at the G20 Summit in Indonesia, as well as the outcomes of the China-Australia Foreign and Strategic Dialogue.

"Based on the principles of mutual respect, mutual benefit, and seeking common ground while shelving differences, China is willing to launch and resume exchanges with the Australian side in various fields, expand cooperation, manage differences, rebuild mutual trust, and bring bilateral relations back on track," the spokesperson said.