Australia PM eyeing trade on China trip despite regional angst

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Mr Anthony Albanese’s visit to Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu comes at a fraught moment.

PHOTO: REUTERS

SYDNEY - Mr Anthony Albanese kicks off his second visit to China as Australian prime minister on July 12, seeking to bolster recently stabilised trade ties even as geopolitical tensions remain high.

Relations between Beijing and Canberra have charted a bumpy course over the past decade, a period marked by repeated disagreements over national security and competing interests across the vast Pacific region.

Affairs improved in December 2024, when China

called off a ban on imported Australian rock lobster

“Trade is now flowing freely, to the benefit of both countries and to people and businesses on both sides,” Mr Albanese said ahead of the trip.

But the Labor Party leader’s trip – scheduled to last through July 18 – also comes as China’s sweeping territorial claims ruffle feathers across the region, particularly in the South China Sea.

Mr Albanese has said that all issues will be on the table during upcoming discussions with Chinese leaders, including President Xi Jinping, making the visit a tricky balancing act as economic and security priorities compete.

“We cooperate where we can, we disagree where we must, and we’re able to have those honest conversations about some of the disagreements that are there,” Mr Albanese told reporters ahead of the trip.

The two countries “have different political systems” and “different values”, he said, adding: “But we’ve got to be able to have that engagement directly.”