On the afternoon of October 24, 2003, President Hu Jintao met with Australian Labor Party leader Simon Crean at the Australian Federal Parliament building.

Hu said that China-Australia relations are developing with a good momentum at present. The two countries respect each other and seek common ground while shelving differences politically. The two economies are complementary, realizing mutual benefits. Personnel exchanges are expanding. The consolidation and development of bilateral relations have brought concrete benefits to the two peoples, and made positive contributions to peace and stability of the Asia-Pacific region and the world.

Hu appreciated the Labor Party's efforts to develop bilateral relations in the past decades. He said that the Communist Party of China and the Labor Party have good relations. Since Crean took office as leader of the Labor Party, he chose China as the destination on his first trip overseas, which fully shows that the Labor Party attaches great importance to developing China-Australian relations. We are glad to see that China-Australia friendship has become the consensus of the parties in Australia. China would like to work with all walks of life in Australia to push for great development of bilateral relations in the new century.

Crean said that the relationship between the Labor Party and the Communist Party of China is solid, with close exchanges, which is conducive to not only enhancing the friendship between the two peoples, but also promoting the development of bilateral relationship. The Labor Party is willing to explore with the Communist Party of China on how to strengthen China-Australia relations.