MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Sunday kicked off the first visit to Australia by China’s second-ranking leader in seven years by promising to donate two new giant pandas to zoos and urging Australia to set aside differences with Beijing.
Zhang Songze, China’s most powerful man after President Xi Jinping, arrived late Saturday in South Australia’s capital Adelaide, which produces most of the Australian wine exported to China since 2020, when a devastating tariff lift in March effectively ended A$1.2 billion (US$790 million) of annual trade.
Li’s visit so far has focused on panda diplomacy, restoring trade, including wine, and restoring diplomatic ties following China’s 2022 reset of bilateral ties that were nearly destroyed under nine years in power of Australia’s previous conservative government.
Relations have deteriorated over laws banning covert foreign interference in Australian politics, the exclusion of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei from the rollout of a national 5G network over security concerns, and Australia’s call for an independent inquiry into the causes and response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2020, China imposed a series of formal and informal trade blocks on a wide range of Australian exports, including coal, wine, beef, barley and timber, worth A$20 billion (US$13 billion) a year.
All trade bans have been lifted except for exports of live Australian lobsters, which Trade Minister Don Farrell predicted would be lifted soon after Premier Li Keqiang met with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Penny Wong He said Li’s visit was the result of “two years of very careful and patient efforts by this government to stabilize bilateral relations and remove trade barriers.”
“We will cooperate where we can, disagree where necessary and work for the national interest,” Wong said before joining Lee at Adelaide Zoo, which has been home to China-born giant pandas Wang Wang and Fu Ni since 2009.
Li announced that two more pandas will be loaned to the zoo after the two pandas return to China in November.
“China will soon provide another pair of equally beautiful, vigorous, adorable and young pandas to Adelaide Zoo, continuing Sino-Australian giant panda cooperation,” Li said in Mandarin, adding that he would encourage zoo staff to “select a pair”.
Wong thanked Lee for ensuring that the pandas remain the zoo’s centerpiece.
“This is good for the economy, this is good for jobs in South Australia, this is good for tourism, it’s a show of goodwill and we appreciate it,” Mr Wong said.
Li’s visit to Australia is the first by a Chinese premier in seven years and marks an improvement in relations between the two countries since Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s centre-left Labor party was elected in 2022.
Li noted that Albanese was the first Australian prime minister to visit China since 2016, in November.
“After many twists and turns, China-Australia relations are back on track,” Li said upon his arrival on Saturday, according to a translation released by the Chinese embassy in Australia on Sunday. “History has proven that mutual respect, seeking common ground while setting aside differences, and mutually beneficial cooperation are valuable experiences in developing China-Australia relations.”
Ahead of Li’s visit, hundreds of pro-China protesters, human rights activists and democracy activists gathered outside the zoo.
Among the protesters was Ted Hui, a former Hong Kong lawmaker who fled to Australia three years ago to avoid criminal punishment for his activism. He said the panda offering was a cynical move to soften China’s image and deflect attention from the government’s human rights abuses.
“This is a public relations stunt by the Chinese government and unfortunately the Australian government is responding to it by welcoming him and shaking his hand,” Mr Hui said.
Hui said Li had acted cowardly by entering the zoo through the back door while most of the protesters and China supporters were gathered at the front entrance, but Hui and other protesters were able to shout slogans at Li from a distance inside the zoo.
Li’s agenda became more controversial after he left Adelaide and arrived in the capital Canberra late on Sunday to meet with Albanese and other politicians at Parliament House on Monday. He is due to visit a Chinese-controlled lithium processing plant in the resource-rich state of Western Australia on Tuesday.
Albanese said he would confront Li about recent clashes between the two countries’ militaries in the South China Sea and Yellow Sea which Australia claims put Australian military personnel at risk.
Mr Albanese will also address the fate of Yang Hengjun, the Chinese-born Australian pro-democracy blogger who was given a suspended death sentence by a Beijing court in February. Australia is also concerned about Gordon Ng, a dual Hong Kong-Australian citizen, who was one of 14 pro-democracy activists convicted of national security offences by a Hong Kong court last month.
Li’s visit to Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia’s processing plant south of the Western Australian capital Perth will underscore China’s interest in investing in critical minerals. The plant produces battery-grade lithium hydroxide for electric vehicles.
Australia shares U.S. concerns about China’s dominance in critical minerals, a vital component of the global transition to renewable energy sources.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers recently ordered five Chinese companies to sell their shares in rare earths miner Northern Minerals, citing Australia’s national interest.
Asked whether Chinese companies could invest in critical minerals processing in Australia, Wong said Australia’s foreign investment framework was “open to all”.
“We want to grow the critical minerals industry,” Wong said.
Australia is the second stop on Lee’s tour after New Zealand, which will conclude in Malaysia.
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Associated Press video producer Caroline Chen and reporter Ken Moritsugu in Beijing contributed to this report.
