China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi has told Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong that the Albanese government must form a "correct understanding" of China as a partner, not a threat, according to a Chinese government summary of their first meeting in Bali.
The meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers' summit on Friday night ended more than three years of cold shoulder treatment from China's Foreign Ministry towards Australian ministers, and is a prominent step in the resumption of high level contact between the two countries.
China's government waited more than 24 hours after the meeting to present its account of the exchange, which Ms Wong described earlier as "an important first step" to "stabilise" the relationship.
She told reporters that she raised the prolonged detention of two Australian citizens in Beijing on national security charges and China's trade restrictions on multiple Australian exports, but declined to specify what Mr Wang asked of Australia.
Morrison government to blame
In a statement, China's Foreign Ministry said Mr Wang laid the blame for the extraordinary deterioration of diplomatic ties in recent years on the previous Australian government, telling Ms Wong the Morrison government was "determined to view China as an adversary and even a threat".
"[The previous government] undertook a series of irresponsible words and actions," Mr Wang said at the meeting, according to the Chinese government statement.
His statement is in line with Beijing's stance over the past few years that the Australian side is to blame rather than China, despite Xi Jinping's government jailing two Australians in secretive cases, sentencing a third to death and imposing billions of dollars of trade strikes in a thinly veiled effort to economically coerce Australia.
Four demands of Albanese government
With such measures failing to shift either the Morrison government's positions or Australian public opinion, Beijing has used the election of the Albanese government as a reason to resume diplomatic contact.
And Mr Wang has made four general demands of the new government, saying he "hopes the Australian side will seize the opportunity to take concrete actions to reshape its correct understanding of China, reduce negative assets and create positive energy".
"Firstly, Australia must treat China as a partner, not an adversary," Mr Wang told Ms Wong, according to the statement.
"Secondly, we must adhere to a path of seeking common ground while reserving differences.
"Thirdly, we must adhere to not targeting or being controlled by third parties," he said, a likely reference both to Australia's efforts to persuade South Pacific nations away from security deals with China along with Australia's involvement in US-led diplomatic initiatives in Asia.
"Fourthly, we must build a positive and pragmatic foundation of public opinion," he said, likely referencing expectations that Australian leaders would be more cautious in their public language as well as recent public opinion polling that shows sentiment in Australia towards Xi Jinping's government sharply souring.
Pacific Islands agreements
The Chinese government statement also said the issue of Beijing's growing role in the South Pacific was discussed, with Mr Wang emphasising that China's cooperation was at the request of Pacific nations.
It continues a defensive tone that Beijing has adopted in recent weeks as it tries to sign up more South Pacific nations to long-term security and trade deals, while simultaneously seeking to improve relations with Australia.
Like the previous government, the new Albanese government is extremely wary of China's long-term intentions in the Pacific region.
Mr Wang also noted "positive results" from joint programs in the region involving Australia and New Zealand.
Last week, the Solomon Islands Prime Minister called for a permanent Chinese police training presence in his country, further fuelling Australian concerns about the true intentions of China's recently-signed security pact with Honiara.
China's account of the ice-breaking meeting threw forward to the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties later this year, saying Beijing hopes for more stable and mutually beneficial ties.
Before leaving Bali, Ms Wong said the meeting was "a first step towards stabilising the relationship", and she struck a cautious tone about managing differences that are now well understood and deeply embedded on both sides.
"I think all of these issues will take some time and I think there is a path we are walking and we will take one step at a time in the interest of the country," she told journalists.
"If Mr Wang indeed set out four conditions for further engagement, he's likely to be disappointed, unless China itself changes course," said Rory Medcalf, head of the National Security College at the Australian National University.
"Our Foreign Minister's observation that we have a long journey ahead is putting it mildly," he told the ABC.
Professor Medcalf believes the cautious and understated language from both Foreign Ministers is a "vindication" of Australia's bipartisan approach to China in recent years.
"Should we treat China as a partner rather than a rival? That's what Australian governments have wanted all along," he said.
