Chinese Premier Li Qiang has arrived in Australia for a four-day visit hosted by Anthony Albanese.
It is the first visit to Australia by a Chinese prime minister in seven years and signals a thawing of recently frosty relations between Australia and the communist superpower.
The prime minister heads the State Council and holds the number two position in the seven-member ruling Politburo. Only President Xi Jinping, as leader of the Chinese Community Party, surpasses him in rank.
He was met at Adelaide Airport around 6pm on Saturday by Foreign Minister Penny Wong and South African Prime Minister Peter Malinauskas and will later meet Anthony Albanese and address Parliament in Canberra.
In recent months, the prime minister has attended the G20, the World Economic Forum and a trilateral summit with Japan and South Korea. Former Prime Minister Li Keqiang visited Australia in 2017.
An official visit of this level requires the utmost diplomatic subtlety. Formally, it resumes the visit that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made to China at the end of last year.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang arrived in Adelaide on Saturday night (pictured) and was welcomed by Penny Wong and South African Prime Minister Peter Malinauskas.
A crowd of supporters brandishing Australian and Chinese flags gathered at the airport.
The Chinese prime minister, second in command after Xi Jinping, returns to a visit that Anthony Albanese made last year
What will the prime minister do?
In Canberra, the focus will be on scenes worthy of the visit of a leader of a major world power (although I suppose nothing we do will top Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcoming Albanese in a lap of honor before cricket in a golden chariot). .
There will be a full welcome ceremony, including a military display and a visit with Governor General David Hurley. This is the protocol and symbolism of any official visit.
On the political side, the prime minister will co-chair the ninth Annual China-Australia Leaders Meeting. Xi addressed parliament in 2014 (followed the next day by Modi, echoing the memorable occasion in 2003, when US President George W. Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao gave speeches within a day of each other).
Xi has visited all Australian states; She joked that she should “get a certificate for it” after her visit to Tasmania in 2014.
Li will spend time in Adelaide (to visit pandas and have lunch with relieved wine exporters) and Perth (for trade promotion and a visit to the Chinese community) before continuing to Malaysia.
Premier Li will visit the giant pandas at Adelaide Zoo (pictured) as part of his visit to Australia.
Just as we are accustomed to our prime minister bringing business delegations on his trips, China sees the visit as an opportunity to promote trade and investment ties.
The Prime Minister will visit a lithium refinery in Kwinana (a joint venture with Chinese company Tianqi Lithium), along with a Fortescue facility. He will join business leaders at an Australia-China CEO roundtable hosted by the Business Council of Australia.
It is a reminder that, as in Australia, Chinese leaders are fully focused on improving economic growth.
Former diplomat Jocelyn Chey notes that, given his experience promoting business and trade development, Li will likely take a keen interest in the economic potential of greater interaction in industry and trade.
Will there be any important announcements?
Basically, the work has been done beforehand to allow the visit to take place.
The Australian and Chinese foreign ministers met in Canberra in March, defense ministers met in Singapore earlier this month and Trade Minister Don Farrell has been busy working on trade restrictions, with recent announcements about barley and wine.
Lobster is virtually the latest industry to face trade barriers.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will host Chinese Premier Li Qiang during part of his trip (pictured, the pair met in China late last year)
The Albanian government has largely achieved its goal of “stabilizing” relations. This visit is more about exploring what else might be possible in the relationship.
Many will listen closely to Li’s messages, which may well be subtle. In an opaque political system, pronouncements at the highest level will be scrutinized for clues about policy and direction.
Chinese people are one of the most important recipients of this signaling: for example, lower-level officials, importing companies, vacation planners, and parents making decisions about where their children will study.
Australia hopes to continue the message that it is back on the list of “friendly” countries. The feeling that Australia was “not that friendly, or even that hostile” had a negative impact on many small decisions made by a variety of actors. It is worth mentioning the fact that Li’s daughter studied in Australia.
Continuing areas of disagreement
While those involved in the protocol will always wish to reduce controversy, it is inevitable that the Chinese premier will face fierce questions from the media and likely demonstrations, for example from Uighur, Falun Gong and Hong Kong protesters.
Albanese has promised to raise issues of concern during Li’s visit, in line with his oft-repeated: “We will cooperate where we can, disagree where we must, and commit to our national interest.”
Albanese became the first Australian prime minister to visit China since 2016 after flying to Beijing in November. He is pictured with Chinese Premier Li Qiang.
This will include human rights issues, including the death sentence handed down to Australian citizen Yang Hengjun earlier this year. Albanese is likely to again mention his concerns about Chinese action against Australian personnel in the Yellow Sea enforcing UN sanctions on North Korea, along with other long-standing areas of disagreement between the two countries.
Diplomacy in action
Above all, the prime minister’s visit will demonstrate that China and Australia are capable of having a “normal” diplomatic relationship after years of “freezing.”
It will illustrate the value of diplomacy – not as an end in itself – but as a way of communicating: presenting your points of view, trying to resolve differences and trying to influence.
In the relationship between China and Australia the differences are many. The UTS:ACRI/BIDA survey released this week shows how deep Australians’ distrust of China remains. A state visit will not be able to hide this.
But compared to the years when Australia had no way to communicate with or influence China, this is a better situation and more in line with other countries.
As Australia seeks to manage relations with China – consistent with its national interests and support for global norms – diplomacy provides tools to maximize the positives and limit the negatives of an always important but difficult relationship.