Australia urges Beijing to release its citizens as Foreign Minister Wong heads to China
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong who will soon embark on a trip to China, on Tuesday said that she will push China to lift trade sanctions and seek consular access to two Australians detained by Beijing.
Cheng Lei an Australian journalist was detained by Chinese authorities in August 2020 over allegations of "supplying state secrets overseas". while Chinese-born Australian Yang Jun who was detained in January 2019 has been accused of espionage reports AFP.
Watch |Penny Wong to meet China's foreign minister amid soaring tensions in Indo-Pacific
Urging their release Wong said that it would remove an obstacle that stands before good relations between her nation and China.
"I think that it would be beneficial not just for the individuals, which is I think important in its own right, but it would be beneficial to the relationship for those consular matters to be dealt with," she said.
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Wong is the first Australian Foreign minister to visit China in four years. The upcoming visit marks the first formal talks since 2018 between top diplomats of the two nations.
The last such visit was in 2019. Since then the once excellent relations between China and Australia have nosedived, with them sparring over an array of political and moral issues.
As per AFP, these include Chinese influence operations overseas; widespread rights abuses in Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Tibet; and America's role in the Asia-Pacific region etc.
Before departing for her visit, Wong said "Many of the hard issues in the relationship will take time to resolve in our interests," adding that it "will take time, but I do see this visit as another step in the road."
(With inputs from agencies)
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