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(Reuters) – Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday he will hold a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday in what will be the first meeting between the leaders of the two countries after years of tension.
Albanese and Xi Jinping attend the G20 leaders meeting in Bali, Indonesia.
“Australia will present our own position. I look forward to having a constructive discussion with President Xi tomorrow,” Albanis told the media after arriving in Bali on Monday.
Diplomatic relations between Australia and China have deteriorated sharply in recent years, with Beijing imposing sanctions on the import of some Australian goods and reacting angrily to Canberra’s calls for an international inquiry into the origins of the COVID-19 coronavirus.
The last time the two leaders met was in 2019 when Albanese predecessor Scott Morrison briefly met with Xi during the G20, according to Australia’s Foreign Office.
Albanese spoke briefly with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at a summit in Cambodia on Sunday, and the two foreign ministers also spoke last week.
(Reporting by Alasdair Pal and Lewis Jackson in Sydney; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Tom Hogue)
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