JAKARTA, Sept 7, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - Australia's prime minister confirmed

Thursday he will visit China later this year after talks with China's
premier, who said Beijing was ready to resume bilateral exchanges after years
of friction.

The announcement by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the
sidelines of a Southeast Asia summit in Indonesia came after a years-long
break in relations over political and economic issues including Chinese
sanctions on Australian imports.

"I... confirmed the invitation from President Xi," Albanese told reporters
after talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, adding he "will visit China later
this year at a mutually agreeable time".

The trip would be the first to China by an Australian prime minister since
2016.

Li told Albanese China was ready to work with Australia to resume exchanges
in different areas, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported, without
mentioning specific areas.

He said the Asia-Pacific region was the shared home of both countries and
Beijing would work with Australia to safeguard peace and stability in the
region, according to Xinhua.

China's foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Beijing welcomed the
planned visit and that "a healthy and stable China-Australia relationship
serves the fundamental interests of the two peoples".

Albanese thanked President Xi Jinping for the invitation and said his talks
with Li were "constructive" and "positive", adding the two countries needed
more dialogue to improve relations.

"This was an important meeting. I told premier Li that we would continue to
cooperate where we can, disagree where we must and engage in our national
interest," he said.

Albanese last met Xi on the sidelines of the G20 summit on the Indonesian
resort island of Bali in November.

- Australian delegation in China -

Australia sent a delegation of industry, government, academic, media and arts
representatives to Beijing on Thursday for talks with their Chinese
counterparts.

Such exchanges were stopped in 2020 and their resumption is the latest sign
of a thaw.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said last week those renewed
discussions illustrated "another step towards increasing bilateral engagement
and stabilising our relationship with China".

China was angered by Australia's legislation against overseas influence
operations, its ban on Chinese telecoms giant Huawei from 5G contracts, and
its call for an independent investigation into the origins of the Covid-19
pandemic.

But relations appear to have warmed since the centre-left government in
Canberra adopted a less confrontational approach to China following
Albanese's election victory last year.

However, issues remain in the relationship.

Australia expressed "deep concerns" last month about the "ongoing delays" in
the case of an Australian academic jailed in China on espionage charges.

Chinese-born Australian Yang Jun has been jailed since 2019 and said in a
note shared with friends and family last month that he feared dying in prison
if he did not receive medical attention.

Beijing said it was handling his case properly, and that it was "a country
ruled by law".