China hopes Australia will heed rational voices

China hopes the Australian government will face squarely the crux of the setbacks of China-Australia relations, take China's concerns seriously, and heed rational voices.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks at a press briefing on Tuesday when asked to comment on the words of Innes Willox, chief executive of the Australian Industry Group, who called on the Australian side to ease the tension with China through negotiation and diplomacy and avoid inflammatory language.

For some time, the Australian government has repeatedly made provocative and confrontational moves on issues concerning China's core interests and concerns, such as issues related to China's Hong Kong, Xinjiang, and Taiwan, Zhao said. He added that this has seriously damaged the political mutual trust and the foundation of cooperation between the two countries.

He noted that more and more people in Australia have called on the Australian government to reflect on its China policy and put forward valuable suggestions.

China hopes the Australian government will abandon the Cold War mentality and ideological bias, and do more things that are conducive to mutual trust and cooperation and are in line with the China-Australia comprehensive strategic partnership, he said.