Scott Morrison has dredged up key phrases from his marketing past as he attempts to thaw diplomatic tensions with China.
The prime minister met with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Singapore on Wednesday, the first high-level meeting of its kind in more than a year.
Australia-China relations have been heavily strained over the past 12 months, due largely to Australia's new foreign interference laws and ongoing concerns about Huawei technology.
Mr Morrison dipped into Mandarin phrase book as he attempted to break the diplomatic deep freeze, borrowing key words learned during his past life at Tourism Australia.
"You need to be able to say ni hao if you're in the tourism industry in Australia, and xie xie," he joked at the meeting.
The significance of the two-way talks was not lost on Premier Li.
"This is also a meeting at the turning point after our ups and downs in relations," he told Mr Morrison.
"I hope that our meeting today can ensure the steady progress of our relations, which would be beneficial to both countries and the rest of our region."
Mr Morrison said Australia was committed to "getting on with business" with China.
"These dialogues are an important part of continuing to manage that partnership ... and to be able to see areas where we're able to work more closely," he said.
"And to work through issues which we from time-to-time have to work through."
Mr Morrison heaped praise on China's contribution to developments throughout the Asia-Pacific.
"China has been the leader in that area like no other," he said.
Earlier, Mr Morrison played down the prospect of Pacific nations becoming entangled in bidding wars between Australia and China.
The prime minister announced a Pacific pivot last week, backed by a $3 billion infrastructure fund for projects throughout the region.
The move was widely viewed as an attempt to curb China's growing influence.
China issued a strong statement on Tuesday declaring the region was not a "sphere of influence" for any one country.
Beijing said no country could block China's co-operation with Pacific nations.
Mr Morrison said Australia was working with a range of nations to develop the Pacific.
"We're not doing that to the exclusion of others," he told reporters.
Mr Morrison has indicated Australia may be willing to help fund one-off projects through China's Belt and Road Initiative, despite signing a rival deal with Japan and the US.
The prime minister also struck a conciliatory tone on disputes in the South China Sea.
He declined to back US calls for China to pull its missiles off the disputed territory of the Spratly Islands.
"We're not taking sides on that issue," Mr Morrison said.
"But we continue to express our position when it comes to freedom of navigation and movement through that part of the world, as well as overflight."
Malaysia has warned rising US-China trade tensions risk triggering a "domino effect" of protectionist measures throughout the Indo-Pacific.
But Mr Morrison has stressed the need to cut through the "atmospherics" and the "unorthodox and unconventional" approach to trade by US President Donald Trump.
Despite the tit-for-tat trade dispute, Mr Morrison is certain the US is focused on pursuing free and open trade channels.
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