The prime minister of Australia, a longtime US security partner in Asia, sought to focus his trip to China this week on business and trade opportunities, dodging thornier issues around US-China competition such as Taiwan or Beijing’s military expansion.

China and Australia will keep open dialogue and look for areas of cooperation despite strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific region, Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday after meeting China's President Xi Jinping in Beijing.

Australia and China are working to strengthen trade ties despite disagreements over security and human rights BEIJING — The leaders of Australia and China sought to deepen trade ties despite their differences over regional security and human rights at talks Tuesday in the Chinese capital.

China ended the first half of the year with a record trade surplus of about $586 billion after exports to the US began to stabilize, as factories rode out the tariff rollercoaster that upended global commerce.

BEIJING—China’s exports grew at a faster clip in June, topping market expectations as trade tensions with the U.S. eased following a round of bilateral talks. Outbound shipments rose 5.8% in June from a year earlier,