MNI London: Reuters reporting comments, per Xinhua, from separate meetings between Chinese President Xi Jinping and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Xi and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese that took place today on the margins of the G-20 summit in Brazil.
- Xi told Albanese that China-Australia relations, "have achieved a turnaround and are maintaining a positive momentum of development," and called on "both sides to strengthen coordination and cooperation, and oppose protectionism." Xi added that China and Australia, "are supporters and defenders of economic globalisation and free trade."
- Xi told Starmer that China and Britain, "enjoy vast space for cooperation in areas such as trade and investment, clean energy, financial services, and healthcare and people's livelihoods"; and "should uphold their strategic partnership and open up new prospects," for bilateral relations.
- Starmer said at the top of the meeting: “We want our relations to be consistent, durable, respectful, as we have agreed, avoid surprises where possible... The UK will be a predictable, consistent, sovereign actor committed to the rule of law.”
- Xi's comments come after a meeting on Saturday with US President Joe Biden where Xi touted some successes in managing relations but had one eye on US President-elect Donald Trump's incoming administration. Beijing may see a more isolationist Trump foreign policy agenda as weakening Biden's flagship Indo-Pacific alliances - including the nuclear sharing agreement AUKUS (Australia, UK, and the US) and the QUAD alliance (Australia, India, Japan, US) - which have been criticised by China as contributing to tensions in the region.