APEC: All talk and no shirtfront?
The Prime Minister has arrived in Beijing where he will come face to face with the Russian President for the first time since making his "shirtfront" threat.
Mr Abbott will meet with world leaders at the APEC summit, and also hold closed discussions with Vladamir Putin to voice concerns about the MH17 investigation.
Prime Minister Abbott arrives at Beijing Capital International Airport. Photo: Getty
The meeting comes amid reports of ‘undeniable evidence’ that Russia supplied the missile that downed the plane that was carrying 298 people, including 38 Australians.
In announcing the request for private talks had been granted, Mr Putin's top foreign policy adviser Yury Ushakov added the Tuesday meeting "will be short".
Mr Abbott did not repeat his previous threat to "shirtfront" the Russian president when asked about their impending talk.
But he said they'd have "a robust conversation" to ensure Mr Putin guarantees he's doing everything possible to assist investigations into the MH17 disaster.
"I will speak for our dead, I will speak for our nation, I will speak for decency and for humanity," Mr Abbott said.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop hosed down concerns Mr Abbott's previous choice of language would derail discussions.
"Together we have carefully taken care of the tree of Russian-Chinese relations," Xi told Putin at the Diaoyutai state guesthouse in Beijing.
Meanwhile, the Government is confident about concluding a Free Trade Agreement with China, the negotiations of which have dragged on for about 10 years - and will be worth $150 billion dollars a year.
Ms Bishop said she would be "delighted" to have the agreement finalised ahead of the G20 summit in Brisbane on November 15.
The APEC summit marks the beginning of a whirlwind week of diplomacy for Mr Abbott, who will also visit Myanmar for Asian security talks before returning to Australia to host the G20.
