Canberra can move to revive hope of better ties

Asked at a news conference on Wednesday if he had received an invitation for an official visit to China, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said, "No is the answer in terms of the question". He, however, added that dialogue is a good idea.

Dialogue is definitely good, especially between an influential nation in the southern hemisphere and its largest goods and services trade partner. China, as a world plant that needs large imports of ore and coal, and Australia, as a large exporter of materials for industrial use, can form a good symbiotic relationship and complementary economic structure.

As The Australian newspaper noted, 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of former Australian prime minister Gough Whitlam's visit to China, the first in the two nations' diplomatic history. Albanese's predecessor Scott Morrison never stepped on Chinese soil, while his predecessor Malcolm Turnbull did not visit China a second time, after the first one in May 2018.