SYDNEY, Oct 22, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - Australia's prime minister will visit China 
in early November to meet President Xi Jinping, Canberra confirmed Sunday, as 
the two trading partners work to repair a once-frosty relationship.
 
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese locked in the trip -- from November 4 to 
November 7 -- after China agreed to review hefty tariffs on Australian wine 
which had sparked a festering World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute.

It also follows the release of Australian journalist Cheng Lei, deported from 
China earlier this month after being detained for three years on espionage 
charges widely seen as politically motivated.

"I look forward to visiting China, an important step towards ensuring a 
stable and productive relationship," Albanese said in a statement.

"I welcome the progress we have made to return Australian products, including 
Australian wine, to the Chinese market."

The widely anticipated trip would be the first to China by an Australian 
prime minister since 2016. 

- Tariff dispute -

China slapped tariffs on key Australian exports such as barley, beef and wine 
in 2020, flexing its economic muscle at the height of a bitter dispute with 
Australia's former conservative government.

It also halted imports of some of Australia's most significant commodities, 
including coal, curbing billions of dollars in trade.

China had been angered by Australian laws barring tech giant Huawei from 5G 
contracts and its call for an independent investigation into the origins of 
the Covid-19 pandemic.

Many of those trade barriers have been slowly wound back after Australia's 
centre-left government -- elected in May last year -- adopted a less 
confrontational approach.

This year China has dropped tariffs on Australian barley, ended an import ban 
on Australian timber, and agreed to resume receiving shipments of Australian 
coal.

Over the next five months China will conduct an "expedited review" of its 
tariffs on Australian wine, Albanese said.

Australia has threatened to resume complaints to the WTO if "the duties are 
not removed at the end of the review", he added.

China confirmed on Sunday that it had agreed with Australia to 
"appropriately" resolve their trade disputes, particularly over wine.

- Softening tensions -

There has also been progress on diplomatic fronts, with China earlier this 
month agreeing to free Australian journalist Cheng, a former anchor for 
Chinese state broadcaster CGTN. 

Australia's government had long campaigned for her release, calling for China 
to follow "basic standards of justice, procedural fairness and humane 
treatment". 

Recent economic data released by Beijing suggests the country's post-Covid 
recovery is running out of steam and growth is slowing, heaping pressure on 
the terms of China's external trade relationships. 

The softening of tensions with Canberra comes as Chinese President Xi has 
taken a more pragmatic diplomatic approach with international partners.

Xi had called for relations with Australia to "improve" in a November 2022 
meeting with Albanese on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Indonesia.