SHANGHAI, July 10 (Reuters) – Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on his Australian counterpart Penny Wong to treat China as a partner, not an adversary, and to harness “positive energy” to improve relations between the two countries.
While attending the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Bali, Indonesia, Wang Yi expressed his wish that Australia “seize the opportunity to take concrete action and understand the China properly,” according to a statement released by his minister on Saturday.
“All the difficulties that China and Australia have had in their relations in recent years stem from the insistence of previous Australian governments to regard China as an ‘adversary’ or even a ‘threat’,” Wang Yi said, adding that Canberra’s words and actions had been “irresponsible”. (Report David Stanway; French version Camille Raynaud)