The relief was palpable among business leaders in Australia when prime minister Anthony Albanese met China’s president Xi Jinping last week at the G20 summit in Bali.
The first bilateral meeting between the leaders of China and Australia since 2016 raised hopes that acrimonious tensions between the countries might be easing, leading to the eventual lifting of trade sanctions imposed by Beijing.
It will be two years this month since China’s shock and awe campaign was launched on the Australian economy. That followed a call by former Australian prime minister Scott Morrison for an inquiry into the origins of Covid-19, increasing tensions that had been building since Australia banned Huawei kit from being used in 5G networks.