Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong will begin a two-day visit to China, aimed at mending strained bilateral relations as the countries mark the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic ties.

Wong's visit is the first by an Australian minister since 2019. Trade is on top of the agenda.

Wong will meet her counterpart Wang Yi on Wednesday, and is expected to push China to lift its sanctions.

Beijing has imposed import restrictions on Australian commodities such as wine and barley, in response to Canberra's policies. These include its call for an independent investigation into the origins of the coronavirus in 2020.

Australia's Labor government, led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, returned to power after the general election in May and hopes to thaw ties with the country's largest trading partner.

Wong said that dialogue itself is essential to stabilizing the relationship. "We will cooperate where we can, we will disagree where we must, and we will engage in our national interest," she said.

Wong is also expected to seek consular access to two Australian citizens who are detained in China. Journalist Cheng Lei and writer Yang Hengjun are awaiting sentences after closed-door national security trials.