Australia is realistic about the challenges in its diplomatic relationship with Beijing, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said, as the country prepares for the first visit by a Chinese premier in more than seven years.
While ties between the trading partners had been on a "steadier footing" over the past two years, the government wasn’t "naive or unrealistic about the challenges of managing what is a complex relationship," Chalmers said on the sidelines of the Morgan Stanley Australia Summit in Sydney.
"Our job is to engage, to do that in a meaningful and respectful way, to speak up for and stand up for our national interest when that’s necessary, but overwhelmingly to manage that relationship in the interests of our people and our economy," the Treasurer said. "I think we have made some good progress there."