BEIJING, June 29 -- When Jocelyn Chey worked as cultural counselor at the Australian Embassy in Beijing in 1977, she was surprised -- and impressed -- by the strong curiosity the Chinese showed about her country.

With her coordination, two kangaroos were shipped to Beijing Zoo from Australia and soon became the zoo's stars.

A year later, there was another interaction between the two countries, of a different kind.

Nine English teachers from different Chinese universities were selected by the Ministry of Education to travel down under to study at the University of Sydney.

Besides their degrees, the Group of Nine, as the visitors were called, also reaped warm friendship with many Australians.

At the 16th International Conference of Australian Studies in China held in Beijing last weekend, Chey and Hu Wenzhong, one of the nine teacher-students, shared their stories with scholars and students from both countries.

Based on the strong complementarity of their economies, China-Australia relations today have far outgrown simple curiosity and reached the level of comprehensive strategic partnership.

Bilateral trade currently reached 150 billion U.S. dollars from the humble starting point when the two countries traded only wool and wheat.

However closer ties also mean highlighted differences and even friction.

Since the second half of 2016, there has been continuous mudslinging on China by some Australian politicians and media.

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