Updated ,first published
Beijing: Chinese oil companies have been given the green light to resume jet fuel sales talks with Australian businesses weeks after authorities halted shipments due to the Iran war crisis.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong confirmed that China had agreed to take the “first step” to restore vital jet fuel sales to Australian businesses after a three-hour meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday.
“I can confirm that the Chinese government is facilitating cooperation with Australian businesses on jet fuel,” Wong said at a midnight press conference in Beijing.
Wong said a phone call earlier this month between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Chinese Premier Li Qiang helped pave the way for success.
He did not say which businesses or sectors were involved, or when jet fuel sales would increase, noting “these are commercial transactions, but we believe this is an important step”.
The Chinese government never officially announced it was suspending its jet fuel exports, but it cut back sharply at the outbreak of the Iran war to build up its domestic supply.
Australia gets 30 percent of its jet fuel from China, with demand becoming more critical as the dispute between Iran and the United States in the Mediterranean continues into its ninth week with no clear path to resolution.
In an interview with this headline earlier on Wednesday, Wong revealed that he would make the case to Wang that China can only continue to receive reliable supplies of Australian iron ore and gas if it opens up access to jet fuel and other fuels.
“We supply you with iron ore, we supply you with coal, we supply LNG, and we supply food, and we want to see a reliable supply of liquid fuels, including jet fuel,” he said, explaining Australia’s focus on China.
“We have a common interest in this because those inputs are needed for us to continue to be reliable suppliers.
“You can’t run the mining industry without jet fuel and diesel. You need to get your FIFO workers there.”
His visit coincided with signs that Beijing was preparing to ease its export restrictions, and a British newspaper Financial Times reporting on Wednesday that China’s largest state-owned oil companies have applied for export permits to export oil in May.
But Wong’s visit to Beijing on Wednesday got off to a rocky start after Chinese officials disrupted an earlier meeting between him and Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, trying to force Australian media out of the room before he finished his opening remarks.
A Chinese official walked in front of an official Australian government cameraman, blocking his efforts to film Wong’s prepared statement as he discussed the uncertainty and energy crisis caused by the Iran War.
Ignoring efforts to move them forward, the Australian media remained present until Wong finished speaking, where he emphasized that the Middle East conflict and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz had disproportionately affected Asian and Indo-Pacific refineries.
“In that context, it’s more important than ever that we continue to cooperate and find ways to work together to keep the oil and goods moving,” Wong said in his opening remarks, addressing Han, who was sitting across from him at a long table with Chinese officials.
Wong and Australian ambassador Scott Dewar, who was sitting next to him, looked to the side of the pack of Australian media as officials began to insist they leave, despite protests from reporters that the foreign minister was still speaking.
Eventually, Chinese officials used ropes to usher the media out of the room, with the journalists voluntarily leaving once Wong finished his statement, which took a few minutes.
Han, who addressed the meeting before Wong, did not mention the energy crisis in his opening speech. Citing the progress in the relationship between the two countries, he said China is ready to “provide a more mature, stable and fruitful strategic partnership between China and Australia.”
Wong’s trip to Beijing is part of a quick trip through East Asia this week, with stops in Tokyo and Seoul to discuss oil security. It follows Albanese and Wong’s oil diplomacy visits this month to key Asian trading partners Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei.
Asia has borne the brunt of US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and is now among the regions most affected by the energy crisis.
When asked about the views he was hearing from Asian neighbors about how these issues were affecting the position of Australia’s closest security partner, Wong said there was a “mutual consensus” that the US was repositioning itself in world affairs.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt that President Trump envisions a different role for America and the world, and a different approach for the countries of the world,” Wong said.
Wong declined to be directly involved if he was concerned that a decline in US credibility in Asia would translate into increased Chinese dependence in Asia and strengthen Beijing’s global leadership ambitions, but acknowledged “this is a time of great change”.
“You have a different United States. You have a different China. We have to have the courage in ourselves to move around a different world, and we do that by building relationships in the region and beyond, which is what the government has been doing,” he said.
Get direct mail from our visitors journalists on what is making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.
Lisa Visentin is the North Asia correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age based in Beijing. He was previously a federal political correspondent in Canberra.Connect through X or email address.
