SYDNEY — Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers will travel to China this week for high-level discussions, marking the first visit by an Australian Treasurer to China in seven years. The primary focus of the visit is to co-chair the Australia-China Strategic Economic Dialogue, which has not been held since 2017, alongside the chairman of China’s National Development and Reform Commission.
“This is another really important step towards stabilising our economic relationship with China,” Chalmers said during a press conference on Wednesday.
The visit will also include meetings with senior Chinese officials, as both nations seek to rebuild ties that were strained in recent years. Relations deteriorated after Australia accused China of political interference in 2017 and called for an inquiry into the origins of COVID-19 in 2020, which led to Chinese trade restrictions on Australian exports. However, most of these trade curbs have since been lifted following diplomatic efforts by Australia’s Labour government, which took office in 2022.