China-Australia relations reach ‘good enough’ baseline, ex-envoy says

Canberra is described as quietly confident in its resilience yet wary of Beijing’s overtures to go further and into new areas of activity

The relationship had taken a significant downturn since 2017, but was now on “a more realistic footing”, Graham Fletcher, a non-resident fellow at the Lowy Institute, a Sydney-based think tank, wrote in a report released on Sunday.

Fletcher served as Australia’s ambassador to China from 2019 to 2023.

The countries are currently reviewing their decade-long free-trade agreement, and Australia served as the guest country of honour at China’s International Supply Chain Promotion Expo held in Beijing in June.