On February 7, 2017 local time, Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop of Australia jointly met the press in Canberra after the fourth round of China-Australia Diplomatic and Strategic Dialogue.
When an Australian journalist raised a question over the impact of the possible hard-line policies towards China of the new US government on China-US relations, Julie Bishop said that Australia believes that China-US relations are the most important bilateral relations and that a sound development of China-US relations is conducive to regional peace, stability, and prosperity. Australia hopes that China and the US can deeply and positively interact with each other, and is willing to play an active role in this regard.
Wang Yi appreciated Julie Bishop's positive stance on China-US relations. Wang Yi said that President Xi Jinping once said that China and the US should strive to cultivate common rather than exclusive "circle of friends". Australia is an important member of the "common circle of friends" of China and the US, and can continue to be the US' ally while being China's comprehensive strategic partner. It is believed that Australia, as a member of the Asia-Pacific, will continue to make efforts to deepen China-Australia comprehensive strategic partnership, so as to make its own contributions to peace, stability and prosperity in the region, and play a constructive role in China-US relations.