China, Australia discuss trade, naval tensions in high-level Beijing talks

China and Australia will keep open dialogue and look for areas of cooperation despite strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific region, Australia's leftist/globalist Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday after meeting China's President Xi Jinping in Beijing.

Australia, which regards the United States as its major security ally, has pursued a China policy of, "cooperate where we can, disagree where we must" under Albanese, mending ties that had been strained. Albanese's six-day, three-city visit is a major test case for Beijing's attempts to capitalise on US President Donald Trump's sweeping trade tariffs by presenting itself as a stable and reliable partner.

Xi called on both countries to safeguard free trade in a readout of his meeting with Albanese published by state media that did not mention Trump but referred to a "complex and turbulent" international system.