China's Premier Visits Australia for Bilateral Talks

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Facts

• China's second-most powerful leader, Li Qiang, met with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday — the first state visit by a Chinese premier to the country in seven years.¹
• Albanese hosted Li at the Parliament House in Canberra for talks both parties described as candid, marking the stabilization in relations between both countries after a hostile era.²
• According to a joint statement, the leaders agreed to continue political dialogue and to expand bilateral trade, as well as to bolster cooperation in several areas, including climate change and energy.³
• Albanese further said that issues in the Pacific, as well as topics related to human rights — including the case of Chinese-Australian writer Yang Hengjun, who is on Chinese death row — were raised with mixed responses from Li and his delegation.⁴
• This comes as Australia-China relations, which hit a low point in 2020, have warmed since Albanese took office two years ago. Last November, the Australian premier visited China and met with leader Xi Jinping.⁵
• Bilateral trade reached nearly $216B last year after Beijing lifted trade blocks on Australian goods. China buys a third of Australia's exports and supplies a quarter of the country's imports.⁶

Sources: ¹Associated Press, ²CNBC, ³XINHUA, ⁴9, ⁵South China Morning Post and ⁶Al Jazeera.

Narratives

• Pro-China narrative, as provided by Globaltimes. This is a positive step for bilateral relations between the two Asia-Pacific partners. Albanese has struck a conciliatory note following his bellicose predecessor, and both sides are sincere in their desire to repair relations. China is Australia's biggest trading partner, and they will hopefully see the benefits of cordial relations.
• Anti-China narrative, as provided by Guardian. Australia should not become sycophants to Beijing, as China's abysmal human rights record has real consequences for Australian citizens. An Australian-Chinese academic has received a suspended death sentence in China and dissidents in Australia are having their voices go unheard. Canberra should not humor an authoritarian regime.

Predictions