Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Tuesday that she will press Chinese authorities to release two Australian citizens being held in the country.
Ahead of Wong’s trip to China — the first visit by Australia’s chief diplomat to the country in four years, in a sign of thawing bilateral relations — the foreign minister indicated she would take up the issue of the two imprisoned Australians, journalist Cheng Lei and writer Yang Jun.
«I think it would be beneficial not only for the individuals, which I think is important in its own right, but it would be beneficial for the relationship to address those consular issues,» Wong said, according to an Australian government statement.
The minister has sought to manage expectations around her trip to China, saying that re-engaging with the country at a diplomatic level is the first step in stabilizing the two countries’ relationship.
However, she has made clear that «difficult issues» between the two countries, including trade sanctions and Australians detained in China, require time.
«We will cooperate when we can, disagree when we must and compromise in our national interest,» the Australian foreign minister has asserted, before noting that there has been much speculation about the meeting.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
