China's top legislator Zhao Leji held talks with President of the Australian Senate Sue Lines in Beijing on Monday, expressing China's willingness to work with Australia to build a more mature, stable and fruitful bilateral relations.
At the invitation of Zhao, Lines is leading a delegation to visit China from Oct 11 to 16.
During the talks, Zhao, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, said that under the strategic guidance of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, bilateral ties have returned to the right track of healthy and stable development.
Zhao said China stands ready to work together with Australia to enhance political mutual trust, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, and promote the building of a more mature, stable and fruitful China-Australia comprehensive strategic partnership.
Zhao called on the Australian side to stick to the right perception of China, view China's development in an objective and positive way, respect China's core interests and major concerns, and consolidate the political foundation for bilateral relations.
Zhao called on the two sides to effectively cement cooperation in traditional areas such as energy minerals and agriculture, expand cooperation in emerging areas including green sci-tech, new energy and artificial intelligence, and promote a fair and open trade and investment environment.
He also stressed deepening cooperation at the subnational level and in the fields including culture, education and tourism, and strengthening public support for China-Australia relations.
Zhao said the NPC of China is willing to make joint efforts with the Australian Senate to deliver on the important common understandings between the leaders of the two countries, enhance friendly exchanges between the leaderships of legislatures, special committees, bilateral friendship groups, as well as between NPC deputies and Australian Senate members, share experience on governance, and learn from each other's experience in legislation and oversight.
Zhao also provided relevant information on China staying committed to green development.
For her part, Lines said members of the Australian delegation were from different parties and regions in Australia, but they all hope for sound development of Australia-China ties.
Noting the stabilizing and improving bilateral relations are inspiring, Lines expressed her hope for further enhanced practical cooperation in such fields as economy and trade, green economy, climate change response and people-to-people exchanges.
She said the Australian Senate is willing to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with the NPC of China so as to contribute to the development of Australia-China relations.
China's top legislator holds talks with Australian Senate president
Lebanon is facing renewed calls for a new president to be elected following a two-year power vacuum as the deadly Israeli offensive has thrown the country into turmoil amid fears the crisis could further escalate into a prolonged all-out war.
Lebanon has been without a president since October 2022, when the term of former president Michel Aoun ended. Political divisions and a lack of agreement among parliamentary blocs have resulted in failed attempts to elect a new leader, while the Middle Eastern nation is heavily divided between numerous political forces and different religious sects.
"We know very well that the Lebanese factions are highly influenced by foreign powers that dictate their policies. Some are controlled by the Americans, others by the Gulf, Iran, Syria and more," said local political writer Ramy Naeem.
Parliament member Abdel Rahman Bazry told the China Global Television Network (CGTN) that these conflicting agendas have paralyzed parliament, leading to the presidential post lying empty.
"The parliament is the sole body that has the authority to elect a president and to form a cabinet. Unfortunately some people have been trying to manipulate this by putting certain conditions on the parliament or by really preventing the parliament from going into an election," said Bazry, who represents Sidon in the Lebanese parliament.
The Lebanese death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks has risen to 2,300 since last October, with over 10,000 injured, while over a million people have been displaced.
Given the severity of this unfolding situation, there's a heated debate over how any potential leader should prioritize handling the current crisis.
"As a member of the opposition, I want a president first who fulfills the demands of the people to end the war, not a president that will back the resistance and Hezbollah," said Naeem.
"The priority is as follows: to keep the internal front more cohesive. Second, to work all together with our government to achieve a ceasefire and third, to elect a president so we can have a new government," said Bazry.
Hezbollah is a major player in Lebanon with 15 seats in parliament and two seats in government. Some Lebanese forces and western powers like the U.S. and France want to exclude the Iran-backed Hezbollah from the equation, and blame the group for dragging the country into a war it cannot win.
But even staunch opponents of Hezbollah know it is unrealistic to dismiss the armed group completely.
"Who elects the representatives in parliament are the Lebanese people. I can't force the Shiites in Lebanon not to vote for their candidates. However, I can tell them that I don't accept your representative to be armed and point a gun at me. No political party has the right to arm itself and violate our constitution," said Naeem.
Many people inside the country are calling for Hezbollah to disarm and merge within the Lebanese military forces. But despite the daily onslaught and air raids from Israel that have been targeting Hezbollah leaders and it's infrastructure, officials say they are still adamant to continue their resistance against the Israeli aggression.
"The resistance is in good shape and we are taking every calculated step to strengthen our stronghold on the field politically and in the war zone," Hezbollah spokesman Mohamed Afify told reporters on Saturday.
Lebanon struggles with internal power vacuum as it battles Israel
