Chinese premier congratulates Australian leader on election

By ROD McGUIRK
Associated Press

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — China and Australia may be ready to thaw their diplomatic relations, which have been sitting in the deepfreeze for years. Chinese ministers refused to return phone calls of their Australian counterparts under former Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s conservative administration. But Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has written to congratulate Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on his election victory. Albanese’s office would not comment on the message. Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong were sworn in on Monday, then immediately flew to Tokyo for a summit with U.S., Japanese and Indian leaders. Australia’s center-left Labor Party narrowly won an election Saturday. Albanese has said he expected bilateral relations to remain difficult despite Australia’s government change.