When Prime Minister Anthony Albanese touches down in Beijing on Saturday, he will be the first Australian leader to visit China in seven years.
It ends a hiatus triggered by a string of prickly disputes, including various Chinese sanctions on Australian goods, and back and forth accusations of foreign interference.
Now both sides have renewed ambitions and have cleared the way for the visit with a series of gestures, experts say.
Last month China announced the surprise release of Chinese-Australian journalist Cheng Lei, who was detained for over three years on national security charges. It has also said it will review its tariffs on Australian exports.
On its side, Australia has suspended action it had taken against China at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and greenlit the Chinese lease of a critical port in Darwin.
But the “structural issues plaguing the relationship” haven’t changed, analysts say, as both countries vie for influence in the Pacific Islands region, and Australia updates its defence posture to counter China’s military build-up.
And there is “some gap” between what each side sees as the next steps, they argue.
Chinese officials have expressed a will to advance the relationship by adding “more meat to the bone”, says Elena Collinson from the Australia-China Institute.
“For Australia, though, this represents the pinnacle of stabilisation, and it’s near as good as Canberra wants the relationship to get at this point,” she adds.