China’s second-most powerful leader has announced that the “twists and turns” in Australia-China relations are over – and invited Australian officials to pick a new pair of pandas for Adelaide’s zoo.
But Penny Wong chose to highlight the tensions that remain in the relationship before a series of talks with Premier Li Qiang, who arrived in Australia on Saturday evening and was met by protesters outside the zoo on Sunday.
Li Qiang’s arrival marks the first time a Chinese premier has visited Australia since Li Keqiang accepted Malcolm Turnbull’s invitation in 2017.
Li is in Australia for the annual leaders meeting, which both sides see as central to stabilising relations between the nations.
Australia’s foreign affairs minister welcomed Li’s visit, which Wong said was the result of “two years of very deliberate, very patient work” by the Albanese government to “bring about a stabilisation of the relationship” with Australia’s largest trade partner. She acknowledged that tensions remained.
But Wong also noted that Australia was in a “permanent contest” with China over the Pacific, a state she blamed the former Coalition government for.
“That is the reality,” she told the ABC. “I wish there was a rewind button to recover the last 10 years but we don’t, we have to deal with what we have now which is a permanent contest in Pacific.”
Wong and a delegation of senior Albanese ministers will leave for Papua New Guinea at the conclusion of Li’s visit.
When Li arrived at Adelaide airport on Saturday evening he said Australia was “uniquely positioned to connect the west and the east” and added that bilateral relations between the two countries were “back on track after a period of twists and turns”.
“A more mature, stable and fruitful comprehensive strategic partnership will be a treasure shared by the people of both countries,” Li said.
While Wong was to spend Sunday engaged in panda and trade diplomacy with Li, as he visited Australia’s only giant pandas, Wang Wang and Fu Ni at Adelaide zoo, followed by lunch at a South Australian winery, she said Australia remained focused on areas of disagreement.
That includes China’s attitude to Taiwan, which Wong called one “of the riskiest flashpoints in the world”.
“We support the maintenance of the status quo, that the status quo is the best path for us to maintain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific and in the world,” Wong said.
“We oppose any unilateral changes to the status quo. In terms of the military activities and in and around the Taiwan Strait, you’ve heard me and others speak very clearly about this. We are deeply concerned about the increased activities and the risk of miscalculation, the risk of mistake. And that is a view we’ve put publicly and we have put directly to China.”
Wong said Australia also continued to advocate for the Australian academic Yang Hengjun, who has been given a suspended death sentence by a Chinese court, and for China to use its “special responsibility” and “great power” as a permanent member of the UN security council to exert its influence to end the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“We have expressed concerns similar to those expressed by the G7 about potential activities of Chinese firms and we will continue to express to China our views about the importance of the war ending and Ukraine being able to secure peace on its own terms,” Wong said.
Anthony Albanese will meet Li in Canberra on Monday, where the pair will discuss some of the hangover trade embargo issues, as well as the region’s security. Li will also hold a side meeting with the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, before travelling to Western Australia for meetings with business leaders and Chinese-Australian community members.
Australia’s expansion of its critical minerals industry is expected to be among the agenda items during Li’s meeting with Albanese. Under the Albanese government, stricter foreign investment oversight protocols were put in place, and there have been questions over whether Chinese investment in the critical mineral sector in Australia would be welcomed.
Wong said Australia “welcomed foreign investment, in accordance with the national interest”.
“It is clear which sectors we would take particular interest in as we consider foreign investment applications [and] critical minerals is one of those sectors,” Wong said.
At an event at Adelaide zoo on Sunday, Li announced the current pandas housed there would return to China, and a new pair would be sent in their stead.
“Wang Wang and Fu Ni have been a way from home for more than 15 years, I guess they must have missed their home a lot,” Li said. “So they will return to China before the end of the year.
“But what I want to tell you is that we will provide a new pair of uniquely beautiful, lovely and adorable [pandas] to the Adelaide zoo.”
