China-Australia relations 'caught in a difficult situation' in the past couple of years

China's ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian says in the past couple of years, relations between Australia and China were caught in a difficult situation due to reasons known to all.

“The cooperation between China and Australia is important to both sides, and it's mutually beneficial in nature,” Mr Qian said during his address at the National Press Club.

He said the situation between Australia and China has “greatly impacted” the bilateral exchange cooperation in various views and “severely damaged” the relations between the two countries.

“This is something we didn't want to see, and it goes against the interests of our two countries and our two peoples.

“Now, with the recent federal election, we have a new Australian government ... it did provide us with a possible opportunity to reset the relationship between our two countries.”

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