CANBERRA: Australia is working to stabilize relations with China, but could not return to the thriving economic relationship with its biggest trading partner that existed 15 years ago, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Monday.

Icy bilateral relations that deteriorated during the previous conservative Australian government's nine years in power have shown signs of improvement since Wong's center-left Labor Party was elected almost a year ago. Minister-to-minister meetings have resumed, China has recently lifted restrictions on Australian coal imports and Canberra hopes that a three-year-old tariff barrier on Australian barley would be lifted within months.