Albanese-Xi summit in Beijing: From trade to politics, five key takeaways

After years of tensionand blatant display of Beijing’s ‘wolf warrior diplomacy’ towards Canberra, Monday (Nov 6) brought a highly sought-after respite for the ties between Australia and China as PM Anthony Albanese met Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in the Chinese capital.

Albanese became the first Australian leader in seven years to travel to China, a strong trading partner and the biggest export market for Australian businesses.

Here are five key takeaways from Albanese’s visit to China.

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1) CPTPP

In Monday's talks, Xi Jinping is believed to have raised the issue of Australia’s objection to China’s entry into the expanded Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

While China aspires to join the pact, Australia’s trade minister Don Farrell last year had said that the communist nation had “no prospect”.

Albanese told Xi that the expansion of CPTPP requires the unanimous support of all its signatories, which was unlikely as some nations don’t want China on board.

However, it was not clear whether Australia would shedits objections regarding China’s membership.

2) Wine

Over the past months leading to this key meeting between the top leaders, China has relaxed trading restrictions on Australia that were introduced during former PM Scott Morrison’s tenure.

However, some restrictions are still there on lobster and wine, which were brought up by Albanese.

Australian officials are confident their wine will soon be heading back to Chinese markets.

3) Yang Hengjun

The issue of Australian activist Yang Hengjun, who has been jailed in China for the last five years, also came up in the meeting.

Watch:Albanese-Xi Jinping meet is the first of its kind in over 7 years

China earlier released Australian journalist Cheng Lei after keeping her detained for three years.

While talking to the media, Albanese didn’t explain how Xi responded.

4) Annual leaders'dialogue

Albanese pitched for intensifying high-level engagements between the two nations, including the resumption of the annual leaders' dialogue.

He also invited Xi for a visit to Australia.

5) Ukraine and Gaza

The burning issues of the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza also came up during the meeting.

Albanese said the two leaders spoke about Ukraine andthe war in the Middle East, adding that he stressed the need for peace and security “in our region”.

(With inputs from agencies)