Australia’s Minister for Trade, Simon Birmingham, became the highest-ranking Australian official to visit China in a year on Tuesday, as Canberra attempts to ensure that cooling diplomatic relations do not hinder trade, reported Reuters.
The Australian-China diplomatic relationship has frayed in recent years amid allegations that Beijing has committed cyber-attacks and has attempted to interfere in Canberra’s domestic affairs.
On Sunday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met, where both promised to try to improve the relationship, worth more than A$180 billion ($123.77 billion) in two-way trade last year.
Birmingham arrived in Shanghai to reinforce that message, leading a delegation of 200 Australian companies attending the China International Import Expo.