Tough questions for Chinese premier’s visit as supporters and protesters clash


Chinese premier Li Qiang was met with both warmth and hostility as he arrived in Canberra to meet with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
The highly anticipated visit by Beijing’s second most powerful leader started with a ceremonial welcome, including a cannon salute, on the forecourt of Parliament House in Canberra.

The welcome was contrasted by chanting in the background, with a significant pro-China presence clashing with the Australian Tibetan community and the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement, vocally opposing Li’s visit.

Li’s visit started with a ceremonial welcome. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch

Police have been forced to intervene from time to time as the protesters confront one another.

The tense fighting paints a backdrop for tough questions, as Albanese is expected to raise trade, human rights and the South China Sea, which threatens the relationship’s thaw.

A group of people waving Chinese and Australian flags.

Pro-China demonstrators have arrived to show their support for the visit from premier Li Qiang. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch

Li declared that Chinese-Australian ties were “back on track after a period of twists and turns” when he arrived on the weekend, for the first visit by a Chinese premier in seven years.

China trade sanctions question lingers

China imposed sanctions on $20 billion of Australian products in 2020 after the former Coalition government called for an independent inquiry into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many of these sanctions have been lifted, with bans on the remaining lobster fisheries and beef abattoirs expected to end in the coming weeks.

Albanese will be forced to press the Chinese premier on the viability of future trade and reassure exporters that they won’t face similar restrictions again.
Benjamin Herscovitch, a research fellow at the School of Regulation and Global Governance of Australian National University, said battle lines will be drawn over “trade restriction-free exports going into China”.
“It’s always possible that Beijing, if there’s some kind of serious infraction in Beijing’s mind, could throw down the hammer on Australian exporters once again,” he said on ABC’s Saturday Extra.

“The battle here is going to be one of a whole host of specific granular policy areas where Beijing is trying to inch forward and get additional concessions from Canberra.

Two men in suits, shaking hands, with other diplomats in the background.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang met Agriculture Minister Murray Watt at a winery in South Australia, following the lift of a trade ban that affected wine exports in 2020 and 2021. Source: AAP / Kelly Barnes

“Canberra will be trying to hold the line, not give Beijing too much but also not once again enrage Beijing and prompt Beijing to impose trade restrictions once again.”

Also on the line will be critical minerals, after Treasurer Jim Chalmers ordered five Chinese-linked funds to cut their holding in rare earths mining company Northern Minerals.

Critical minerals are a key component of the country’s energy transition and prime minister’s Future Made in Australia initiative, while there have long been global concerns about China’s control of a large part of the production.

Wong to advocate for detained Australian Yang Hengjun

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Sunday that Canberra would press Australian interests forcefully, including the case of Australian writer Yang Hengjun, who languishes ill in a Chinese jail.

The imprisonment of Yang, who received a suspended death sentence in February and remains in jail, and the targeting of Australian residents by Hong Kong authorities, are viewed as thorny points for the visit.

“We will continue to advocate wherever we are able and we will continue to advocate for appropriate medical treatment” for Yang, Wong said when asked whether she would raise his ill health with Li.

Taiwan and South China Sea a ‘risky’ matter

Wong also reiterated Australia’s long-standing position on Taiwan, describing it as “one of the riskier flashpoints” in the world.
China’s military has stepped up training exercises around Taiwan as it reinforces the that the island is part of the mainland and may be taken by force.
Away from the Taiwan issue, the growing number of incidents between Australian and Chinese militaries has strained the relationship in recent times.
Reaffirming the status quo on Taiwan, Senator Wong said Australia would continue to push for calm in the region and press its claims with Beijing.

“We will co-operate where we can, we will disagree where we must and we will engage in our national interest,” Wong said.



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