The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a new list of “demands” for the Australian government to follow through on if it hopes to reset bilateral ties.
It comes as part of Beijing’s new charm offensive to win over the Labor government while claiming the former Morrison government was the “root cause” of deteriorating relations.
Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on July 8 on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Bali, Indonesia.
This was the first high-level meeting between Australian and Chinese ministers in almost three years. Relations have been on a downward spiral after Beijing launched a trade war against Australian exporters in response to calls from former Prime Minister Scott Morrison for an independent investigation into the origins of COVID-19….