Australia will be ‘patient’ in trying to improve relations with China, says deputy prime minister
Australia will be “patient” as it seeks to repair relations with Beijing, said Australian Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack.
His country will also be looking for ways to broaden its trade interests, he told CNBC on Thursday.
Last week, China announced it would “indefinitely” suspend economic dialogue with Australia, the latest in the rift between both countries. Their relations have soured since last year after Canberra supported an international inquiry into China’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
Trade in some products has been caught in the fallout. Beijing has for months targeted a growing list of imported products from Down Under — putting tariffs on wine and barley, and suspending beef imports.
When asked on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” what he was willing to do to bring China to the negotiating table following the suspension, McCormack said: “We’ll be patient, we always are.”
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