Exclusive | Australia invites China’s new foreign minister to Canberra, sees ‘no downside’ in Wang Yi’s return

Australia’s embassy in Beijing has issued an invitation from Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong for her newly reappointed Chinese counterpart to visit Canberra

It replaces an invitation sent to Qin Gang, who was replaced by Wang Yi as China’s foreign minister last week having not been seen in public since June

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Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong with China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi in July 2022. Photo: AFP

Published: 4:00pm, 2 Aug 2023Updated: 5:22pm, 2 Aug 2023

Australia’s embassy in Beijing has issued an invitation from Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong to her newly reappointed Chinese counterpart to visit Canberra, according to sources close to the Australian government, although a date has not been confirmed.

Wang Yi, director of the Communist Party’s Central Foreign Affairs Commission, replaced Qin Gang, who has not been seen in public since June, as foreign minister last week.

Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs told the Post that “future meetings between the foreign minister and her counterpart will be announced at an appropriate time”. It also described a meeting between Wong and Wang in Jakarta in July as “constructive”, adding that the pair had met several times over the past year.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to request for comment.

The invitation sent out this week is “to replace the cancellation of Qin Gang’s visit,” said one of the sources.

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“No date has been set yet,” the person with direct knowledge of the matter added.