The Chinese Ministry of National Defense announced on Wednesday (March 22) that officials from the Chinese Ministry of Defense and the Australian Ministry of Defense held the first official meeting between the two sides since 2019 in the Australian capital Canberra.

A statement from the Chinese Ministry of National Defense stated that the working group of the Chinese Ministry of National Defense held a "working meeting" between the two defense ministries in Canberra, Australia, and the Australian side on March 22. Military relations "healthy and stable development."

The Australian Ministry of Defense also confirmed the talks, saying the dialogue "will be held in a professional atmosphere and the two sides will exchange views on regional security issues".

Earlier this month, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang met with Australian Foreign Minister Huang Yingxian at the G20 Ministerial Meeting. The two sides stated that China and Australia have resumed bilateral dialogues and consultations in various fields.

In April 2020, former Australian Prime Minister Morrison called on the international community to investigate the origin of the new crown virus, angering Beijing. Relations between the two countries deteriorated sharply. China cut off its high-level call mechanism with Australia, launched a wide-ranging trade retaliation against Australia, and called on Chinese tourists and Chinese students to travel and study in Australia.

After Australian Prime Minister Albanese took office in May last year, Australia-China bilateral relations have loosened. China has gradually resumed trade between the two countries, and inter-governmental dialogue has gradually increased.

Observers pointed out that Beijing's improvement of relations with Australia is largely aimed at polarizing Australia's relationship with the United States and weakening the strength of the United States in the confrontation between the United States and China. Australia is an ally of the United States. When the relationship between the United States and China is deteriorating, it will undoubtedly stand by the side of the United States.

As the Orcus group, the US, UK and Australia are all actively involved in containing China in the Indo-Pacific region. Recently, the United States and the United Kingdom also announced that they will provide Australia with the construction of a nuclear-powered attack submarine, which is expected to be completed in early 2030.

China's foreign ministry opposed the project, saying Orcus had "ignored the concerns of the international community" and embarked on a "dangerous path".

China's retaliatory measures against Australia in 2020 have indeed caused considerable losses to Australia, but after the initial pain, Canberra has strengthened its relations with the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, India and other Asian countries, in order to support China's Sanctioned exports find new markets, putting Australia in a strong position in dealing with China.

According to the Japanese English-language media "Japan Times", in the year from June 2020 to June 2021, due to China's retaliation, Australia's exports to China decreased by 5.4 billion Australian dollars, but Australia's exports to other parts of the world decreased. An increase of $4.4 billion. Australia's GDP grew by 4.7% in 2021 and is expected to grow by 3.6% in 2022.

According to data from international business data providers Refinitiv and Kpler, China resumed importing Australian coal in late February this year, when at least 15 ships carrying coal transported 1.4 million tons of coal to China.

However, the "Japan Times" article pointed out that there is limited room for Australia-China trade recovery. First, China's market conditions are not as good as in the past, and second, Australian companies have found new buyers for their products in other countries. India and other Asian countries have increased imports of Australian coal over the past few years.

In 2021, the UK will overtake China as the largest market for Australian wine. Imports of Australian lobster into Thailand rose to $9.4 million from $42,000 in 2020.

The article said that, on the other hand, Australia is increasingly disturbed by the national security threat posed by China, and there are more and more quarrels between Canberra and Beijing in areas ranging from domestic politics to the economy, from technology to geopolitics. Beijing's interference in Australian domestic politics prompted the Australian Parliament to pass the Anti-Foreign Intervention Act in 2018. The Australian parliament is considering changes to the law in response to China's United Front operations in Australia.