ISTANBUL

Chinese Premier Li Qiang told Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday that Beijing is ready to jointly build "a more mature and stable China-Australia comprehensive strategic partnership.”

Speaking on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Malaysia, Li expressed a willingness to maintain strategic communication with Australia and expand mutually beneficial cooperation, according to the Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua.

Li said that China is willing to work with Australia to tap the cooperation potential in the fields of green economy, high-tech industries and the digital sector. He urged Canberra to "provide an open, transparent and non-discriminatory environment for Chinese enterprises."

"Australia’s relationship with China matters. For our economy, our security and the stability of our region," Albanese said on US social media company X, regarding the meeting.

"China is our largest trading partner and that won’t change," he said, calling the meeting with Li an "opportunity to continue stabilizing" the Australia-China relationship.

Albanese also raised an incident where the Chinese military expelled an Australian warplane last Wednesday over the South China Sea during his meeting with Li, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

"We have disagreements, and friends are able to discuss issues. That's what we're able to do," he said, adding that Li has heard the message "very directly."

In a meeting with European Council President Antonio Costa, Li said that ties between China and the EU are "currently facing both development opportunities as well as new challenges, requiring both sides to maintain the ties on the right track.”

China is ready to work with the EU to advance the resolution of issues in economic and trade cooperation, expand cooperation, and urge all parties to properly resolve differences through dialogue and consultation, as well as jointly uphold free trade and the multilateral trading system, and oppose protectionism in all forms, Li noted.

Costa said on X that the EU "attaches great importance to constructive and stable relations with China."

"We want to enhance cooperation to address global challenges," he said, adding that he has stressed the need for "concrete progress" for trade and economic relations, after the EU-China summit.

Costa said that he raised his "strong concern about China’s expanding export controls on critical raw materials" with Li, while urging Beijing to "restore as soon as possible fluid, reliable, and predictable supply chains."

He also expressed the EU's expectation that China "helps to put an end" to the Russia-Ukraine war.

Separately, during his address on Monday at the ASEAN-Indo Pacific Forum 2025, Albanese said that Canberra has identified a A$20 billion ($13 billion) investment pipeline across Southeast Asia.

"Australia is making new investments in farming in Laos, energy in Thailand, infrastructure in Vietnam, and Toll (Group’s) transport and logistics across Southeast Asia," he said, according to Malaysia's Bernama news agency.

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto also said said that “collaborations and collective efforts to strengthen regional integration by leveraging the RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) as a platform for resilience and rules-based trade,” must be intensified.

"The partnership has to be open for other countries to join the RCEP," he said.