Australia invites China’s new foreign minister to Canberra, sees ‘no downside’ in Wang Yi’s return

“No date has been set yet,” the person with direct knowledge of the matter added.

The Post reported in May that Qin was set to travel to Australia in July for a “reciprocal visit” as part of a series of high-profile political and trade-related moves between the two countries amid their thawing ties.

“There’s no downside from an Australian perspective in Wang Yi’s return,” said Professor James Laurenceson, director of the Australia-China Relations Institute at the University of Technology in Sydney.

Extending the invitation to Wang is “another progress in stabilising and reinvigorating bilateral relations”, according to Zhou Weihuan, director of the China International Business and Economic Law Centre at the University of New South Wales in Sydney.

“Specific issues in the relationship can only be resolved incrementally,” he said.

“Continuous engagement in good faith based on flexibility, compromise and reciprocity remains essential for the resolution of the outstanding issues, such as China’s anti-dumping duties on barley and wine and Australia’s tightened screening of Chinese investment.”

The bilateral relationship turned sour in 2020 after the Morrison administration asked for a probe into the origin of the coronavirus with other world leaders without consulting Beijing.

In April, China said it would review the necessity of continuing to impose anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tariffs on Australia barley, with an expedited process expected to take three or four months.

Australia suspended its case at the World Trade Organization, but in July, Beijing asked for another month to complete the review.