Anthony Albanese has declared Australia will “cooperate with China where we can, disagree where we must, but ... also engage in our national interest” as the prime minister arrived in the People’s Republic for a landmark three day official visit.
Albanese touched down in Shanghai on Saturday evening. After being received at the airport by senior diplomats from both countries, the prime minister went immediately to a banquet hosted by China’s premier Li Qiang to open China’s International Import Expo in downtown Shanghai.
When he returned from the banquet, the prime minister told travelling journalists Australia’s national interest was served by having a positive, constructive, respectful and open dialogue with China, our biggest trading partner.
“That’s what I hope to achieve over the coming days,” the prime minister said.
Albanese has faced some criticism at home for maintaining a hectic schedule of international travel at a time when Australians are battling cost-of-living pressure. The prime minister noted on Saturday night China was Australia’s largest trading partner and pointed out one in four jobs in Australia was “trade dependent”.
Albanese’s visit to China is the first by an Australian prime minister since 2016. He will meet the Chinese president, Xi Jinping in Beijing on Monday, and the premier on Tuesday.
The visit is intended to reboot the diplomatic relationship after a period of significant turbulence that began with Australia’s decision to exclude Chinese company Huawei from the rollout of the 5G network in 2018. The bilateral rift intensified and spiralled into a trade war after then prime minister Scott Morrison called for an independent investigation into the origins of the pandemic in 2020.
On Sunday, the prime minister will attend the trade expo in Shanghai and meet Australian and Chinese business leaders at a function organised by Tourism Australia before flying to Beijing in the evening.
Albanese has flagged that he intends to raise human rights and consular issues during this visit. On Saturday, before he left Australia, Albanese was asked what he would say to China’s premier and president about the writer, Yang Hengjun, who has been detained for four years.
Albanese said: “I’ll be saying that Dr Yang’s case needs to be resolved. And I’ll be speaking about his human rights, the nature of the detention and the failure to have transparent processes.
“We will always raise the issues of Australian citizens when we meet with international leaders. That is something that we do consistently, and I will do it again in a way that is aimed at achieving an outcome in the interests of Dr Yang and his family.”
