Australia's Albanese hopes to ask Xi to lift trade restrictions

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said he intends to ask Chinese President Xi Jinping to drop trade restrictions on billions of dollars of exports if the two leaders meet for the first time this month. Speaking ahead of his departure for the East Asia Summit in Cambodia on Friday, Albanese said he will ask Xi to lift "Counterproductive" tariffs and other trade measures if the two men meet during a slate of high-profile gatherings, including the G20 leaders' summit in Bali, which begins on Tuesday. Albanese, who replaced conservative Prime Minister Scott Morrison, said a meeting with Xi was not yet "Locked in" but he hoped to develop a relationship with China based on cooperation and the national interest, after years of troubled ties between the sides. Albanese's comments come amid expectations the Australian leader could meet Xi in the coming days, during the G20 summit or the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Bangkok. Xi is not expected to attend the East Asia Summit in Cambodia, where Albanese will meet with regional leaders before travelling to Indonesia and Thailand next week. China's ambassador to Australia said in September the two leaders could potentially meet without conditions after the Labor Party's election win had opened the door to "a possible reset of the relationship". No Australian leader has met with Xi since 2019, when Morrison spoke with the Chinese leader on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan.