Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has met with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi as Australia seeks to renew relations with the Asian trading giant.
Ms Bishop is attending a G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Buenos Aires ahead of the leaders' summit in the Argentinian capital later in the year.
She described it on Twitter as a "warm discussion", posting a photograph with the Chinese foreign minister.
"This government is committed to working with China to advance common interests, and to discuss common concerns," Ms Bishop said on Monday.
"Australia's deep diplomatic and trade relationship with China is continuing at the highest levels."
Ms Bishop and Mr Wang will meet again on Tuesday.
Labor claims the coalition has been clumsy in its handling of the relationship, and debate within Australia on the regional role of China could be simplistic.
Last week, Chinese communist party mouthpiece The Global Times said Australia-China relations were "among the worst of all Western nations."
Labor foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong said the relationship demands consistency and clarity.
"This is too important a relationship to be mishandled," Senator Wong told Sky News on Monday.
"It is pretty undeniable that the government has been very clumsy in its handling of it... The reality is, China is very important to Australia."
No Australian minister had visited the Chinese mainland for eight months until Trade Minister Steve Ciobo broke the drought last week.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is expected to head to China later in the year.
