China will work with Australian businesses on jet fuel shipments in an important “first step” in alleviating supply crunches, according to Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong.
The agreement came on Wednesday as part of Wong’s talks in Beijing with her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.
“Inputs China supplies to Australia, including jet fuel, support the Australian resources sector, which in turn helps to maintain the flow of commodities that are so important in the bilateral trading relationship,” Wong said, according to an Australian foreign ministry statement.
Canberra is scrambling to shore up its fuel supplies after Beijing curtailed fuel exports to safeguard its own domestic stock in the midst of the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran closed the strait in response to the US-Israel war on Iran, which is into its third month.
During the talks on Wednesday, both countries also reaffirmed their commitment to “uphold multilateralism”, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.
