Chinese premier agrees with Australia to ‘properly manage’ differences

By ROD McGUIRK
Associated Press

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Chinese Premier Li Qiang says he has agreed with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to properly manage their nations’ differences as they emerge from a hostile era in which minister-to-minister contacts were banned and trade barriers cost Australian exporters up to $13 billion a year. Li, Albanese and senior ministers of both administrations met at Australia’s Parliament House on Monday to discuss thorny issues including lingering trade barriers, conflict between their militaries in international waters and China’s desire to invest in critical minerals. Li is China’s most senior leader after President Xi Jinping. The premier arrived in Australia on Saturday in the first visit to the country by a Chinese premier in seven years.