Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s landmark meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Bali during G20 summit

Australia and China’s leaders have discussed areas of cooperation and their differences in a landmark meeting, paving the way for improved relations between the countries.

Anthony Albanese became the first Prime Minister in six years to have formal talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, meeting for 32 minutes on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali on Tuesday afternoon.

The Prime Minister raised a range of contentious issues including the blockages hindering Australian trade to China, international security issues including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the need for the status quo to remain in Taiwan, human rights concerns over the treatment of Uyghurs, climate change and the detention of Australia-Chinese journalists Cheng Lei and Yang Hengjun.

But he characterised it as a very positive and constructive discussion, while acknowledging there was more to do.

“We’re always going to be better off when we have dialogue and we’re able to talk constructively and respectfully but also honestly, about what those differences are. And we were able to do that this afternoon,” Mr Albanese said after the meeting.

“Today, I think both countries took an important step to moving forward. There are many steps, of course, that we are yet to take.”

The leaders met in a large, chandelier-filled ballroom at the luxury Mulia report in Nusa Dua, Bali.

Mr Xi welcomed Mr Albanese in and they shook hands in front of Chinese and Australian flags before sitting down at facing delegation tables separated by a floral arrangement on the floor.

The President, who spoke in Chinese, opened the meeting by congratulating Mr Albanese on his election win.

“China-Australia relations used to be in the forefront of China’s relations with developed countries for a long time. This is worth cherishing,” he said, according to a media translation of his remarks.

“In the past few years, China-Australia’s relationship has run into some difficulties. That was not what we were willing to see.”

He noted that since becoming Australia’s leader, Mr Albanese had said multiple times he would handle the relationship with China “in a mature manner”.

“I attach great importance to your opinion,” Mr Xi said.

In reply, Mr Albanese said both sides had worked to stabilise a relationship based upon mutual respect and mutual benefit.

“We need to work towards a stable, prosperous and peaceful Indo-Pacific and an international system that is governed by international law and the principles that are enshrined in the United Nations Charter,” he said.

“We have had our differences and Australia won’t resile from our interests or our values. But our bilateral relationship is an important one.”

Mr Xi last formally met an Australian Prime Minister when he had talks with Malcolm Turnbull in 2016. The last time there was any communication was with Scott Morrison in mid-2019.

Mr Albanese’s meeting came together after months of behind-the-scenes work along with discussions between Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles and their counterparts.

Afterwards, he said the leaders had agreed for further dialogue between the two countries, including at ministerial level, but no concrete resolutions had been agreed on any of the issues.

“You shouldn’t expect … that you have a meeting like that and we put forward a position and they come up with a conclusion. That’s simply not the way that the system works,” Mr Albanese said.

However, on trade, he said Mr Xi had noted they had “complementary economies”, with Australia producing the things China wanted to buy. The President had also spoken warmly of his visits to every State in Australia, including WA.

Ben Hillman, interim director of ANU’s Australian Centre on China in the World said the fact the leader-level meeting was happening was “a big step forward after years of diplomatic deep freeze”.

But he cautioned the big challenge would be building on the meeting with concrete measures that improved bilateral ties.

“China’s punitive trade tariffs would be a good place to start, but Beijing will want a gesture in return,” Dr Hillman told The West.

“The Australian Government might acknowledge that the call for a pandemic investigation was poorly handled. Emphasising the improper handling of the call could be a welcome gesture that involves no compromise of Australia’s interests.”

Business leaders also welcomed the growing rapprochement and Premier Mark McGowan said having a strong relationship with Australia’s biggest trading partner was good news.

“If it breaks the ice, if it works through some of the issues, if it makes sure that we get back to a more stable relationship with the biggest purchaser of our products, that’s a good thing,” he said.

US President Joe Biden also raised directly with Mr Xi his ongoing concerns about China’s “non-market economic practices” which harmed workers and families in America and around the world.

The superpower leaders discussed a wide range of issues including Taiwan, human rights, climate change and global economic instability in a three-hour meeting on Monday night.