China, Australia practical cooperation achieves fruitful results: ambassador

CANBERRA, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian on Wednesday said 2023 was a year of "exchange, dialogue and improvement" for China-Australia relations, in which dialogue and cooperation across the board have been resumed and practical cooperation has yielded fruitful results.

In his remarks at the New Year reception of Chinese and Australian media held in the Chinese embassy in Canberra, Xiao said two-way trade hit a historic high and investment cooperation has made positive progress. According to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, total trade in goods between the two countries was 281.263 billion Australian dollars (some 184.86 billion U.S. dollars) from January to November in 2023, an increase of 8.52 percent year-on-year.

Xiao said the two sides have properly addressed each other's legitimate trade concerns on the basis of mutual respect. Australian coal, logs, barley, hay and other products have returned to the Chinese market, and Australia has granted the commercial lease of the Port of Darwin to a Chinese-owned private company again. The two countries have reached a principled consensus on properly resolving trade disputes over Australian wine exports to China.

The momentum of cultural and people-to-people exchanges is improving, Xiao noted, adding that China remains Australia's largest source of overseas students. In the first three quarters of 2023, more than 380,000 Chinese tourists visited Australia.

"As 2024 marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the development of China-Australia relations faces important opportunities," the Chinese ambassador said, hoping that both sides will work together to promote the continuous development of bilateral ties.