Visit marks end of tension

SYDNEY: Vice-Premier Li Keqiang arrived in Australia last night for a three-day visit that marks the end of diplomatic tension between Canberra and Beijing.

"We have extensive and important common interests in safeguarding and promoting peace, stability and prosperity in the region," said Li.

Relations soured in June after a failed bid by China's State-owned metals firm Chinalco to acquire a stake in Anglo-Australian Rio Tinto. The subsequent arrest in China of an Australian Rio Tinto executive over alleged business wrongdoing widened the rift.