Wen vows to boost ties with Australia

BEIJING—China is willing to join hands with Australia and promote the further growth of their bilateral ties, said Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Wednesday in a phone conversation with his Australian counterpart Kevin Rudd.
Wen noted that as important countries in Asia-Pacific region, China and Australia are close partners to each other. “The sound development of their bilateral relations is in the common interests of the two peoples and will contribute to peace, stability and development in the region and the world at large,” he said.
He reiterated China’s commitment to developing Sino-Australia relations from a strategic perspective and making continued joint efforts with Australia to boost bilateral ties. Rudd said Australia and China enjoy a sound relationship and this relationship is of great importance to his country.
He expressed his country’s hope to strengthen and broaden its cooperation with China. Rudd said he is quite optimistic about the future of the relations between the two countries. The Chinese government congratulated Kevin Rudd on his victory in Australia’s recent general elections, and is willing to further promote friendly exchanges and mutually beneficial cooperation with Australia, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said Tuesday.
China is willing to move forward the China-Australia all-around cooperative relations healthily and steadily together with Australia, Qin said when asked about China’s comments on the Labor Party leader Rudd’s victory in the elections. Qin said China attaches great importance to the China-Australia relationship, which is based on cooperation and mutual trust.
Its continuous development would benefit the two countries’ common interests as well as regional peace and stability, and help boost common development and prosperity, he added. Qin said the Chinese government appreciates the high attention paid to bilateral ties by the outgoing Australian Prime Minister John Howard and his government, and their active efforts in boosting the ties.
China is satisfied with the sound development of the China-Australia ties in recent years and believes the relations have a wide prospect, the spokesman said. By defeating the ruling Coalition headed by Howard, Rudd won an impressive victory in the general elections on Saturday and would be Australia’s 26th prime minister.—Xinhua