Canberra should drop any anti-Beijing bias

After months of growing estrangement, there are positive signals that Australia is stepping up efforts to mend the fences with China. A refreshing change of attitude that Beijing has welcomed.

In a meeting with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers' conference in Argentina on Monday, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said her country values its relations with China and sees China's development as an opportunity rather than a threat.

And last week, in the first visit to China by an Australian minister in eight months, Steven Ciobo, Australia's trade minister, visited Shanghai, saying he hoped to repair ties with Australia's largest trading partner.