(Bloomberg) -- China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi is set to travel to Australia next week, the highest level visit from Beijing in almost seven years and the latest sign of warming ties after years of frosty diplomacy.

Wang will arrive in Canberra on March 20 for talks with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong in his first visit to the country since 2017. The two senior officials will meet for the seventh Australia-China Foreign and Strategic Dialogue, which was postponed for years during a period of tense relations.

“It’s Australia’s view that a stable bilateral relationship would enable both countries to pursue respective national interests, if we navigate our differences wisely,” Wong said in a statement on Wednesday. The Australian official said that dialog was important to ensure a constructive relationship with China and to support “regional peace and stability.”

Wang’s visit will take place against the backdrop of a review by Beijing to potentially remove punitive tariffs on Australian wine, a move suggesting that a three-year trade dispute is nearing resolution. Beijing has already scrapped trade curbs on Australia’s barley, coal and timber and has eased restrictions on beef exports.

Ties between Australia and China worsened following a decision by Canberra in 2018 to ban technology giant Huawei from its 5G network, a move which was then followed by a number of Western nations. Relations further deteriorated in 2020 when then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison called for an international investigation into the origins of Covid-19. 

Beijing retaliated with curbs on Australian products. Exports of barley, beef and wine were targeted with trade barriers including tariffs as high as 218% on Australian wine. The restrictions were devastating for Australian winemakers, given that sales to China yielded A$1.1 billion ($728 million) in 2019. 

The election of Australia’s center-left Labor government in 2022 saw the steady warming of relations with China, including a resumption of high-level meetings. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with President Xi Jinping in November, months after barley tariffs were withdrawn. The wine tariffs are expected to be removed soon.

Questions recently arose on the sustainability of improving ties after a Beijing court handed down a suspended death sentence to Australian writer Yang Hengjun for espionage in February. Officials from both sides are adamant that Yang’s case won’t impact broader relations.

Wong said on Wednesday that human rights, consular matters and regional security would be among the matters raised during her meeting with China’s Wang.

“Australia’s approach is consistent; we seek to cooperate with China where we can, disagree where we must and engage in our national interest,” Wong said.

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