China’s foreign minister has urged Australia not to let “any third party” disrupt the stabilisation of bilateral relations in the first high-level visit by a Chinese official in seven years as the two countries seek to restore relations that dived during the pandemic.

Wang Yi’s comments, a thinly veiled reference to US and Australian efforts to strengthen their military alliance in the face of a more assertive China, came as the minister met Australia’s leader Anthony Albanese and foreign minister Penny Wong in Canberra on Wednesday.

The visit was the latest move to ease tensions that erupted under the previous Australian government and culminated in China’s imposition of tariffs and sanctions on Australian products including wine, coal, barley and beef in 2020.