Penny Wong’s warning about China before Anthony Albanese’s visit

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has issued a warning about China before Prime Minister Anthony Albanese leaves for a six-day visit to China, where he will meet with President Xi Jinping.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong says China has purposefully chosen to “wield its strength” in a way that threatens regional security, saying Australia is “realistic” about the superpower’s “objectives in changing the regional balance of power”.

Currently in Malaysia attending the ASEAN foreign ministers meeting, Senator Wong said while no country, including the United States, seeks military confrontation “it is clear” that China intended to increase its “strategic influence” and “military power”.

“China’s size and weight makes it central to solving global challenges, from climate change to global public health, from international trade to the energy transition,” she told the Institute for Strategic and International Studies Malaysia.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has again raised concerns about China’s military build-up in the region. Picture: NewsWire / Brenton Edwards

“China continues to assert its strategic influence and project its military power further into our region.

“And we have seen the worrying pace of China’s nuclear and conventional military build-up, without the transparency that the region expects.”

Her comments comes days before Prime Minister Anthony Albanese leaves for a six-day visit to China, where he will meet with President Xi Jinping to discuss global and regional issues.

With US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also set to attend the ASEAN meeting in Malaysia, Senator Wong said Australia’s security should not defined by the actions of China or the United States.

“We take our own approach to our relationships, to the rules and to this region that we share,” she said.

“We are not naive about the headwinds blowing in global trade, or the risks of economic interdependence creating vulnerability as well as strength.

China's President Xi Jinping and Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pose with other G20 leaders at the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro last year. Picture: Eric Lee/The New York Times via AP, Pool

“But economic security does not have to be code for putting up walls. It is about making the right investments, with the right partners, at the right time.”

Mr Albanese is being urged to “calmly” make the case for Australia’s plan to strip a Chinese-owned company of its lease over the Darwin Port when he travels to Beijing.

Security experts say it is reasonable for the Prime Minister to highlight China’s own strict controls around foreign ownership of critical infrastructure, following local media reports the looming Port takeover would be a “difficult conversation” for Mr Albanese.

The PM will go to China on Saturday, where he will visit Shanghai, Chengdu and meet President Xi Jinping in Beijing.

The South China Morning Post described the trip as a “friendly gesture to keep relations on a positive track,” while also warning a major task for Mr Albanese will be explaining Australia’s stance on Chinese investment and in particular the Darwin Port.

Labor has vowed to return Darwin Port to an Australian-controlled company. Picture: NewsWire / Thomas Lisson

The Port was leased to Chinese company Landbridge for 99 years in 2015 by the Northern Territory government, but Mr Albanese announced during the 2025 federal election the Commonwealth would seek its return to Australian hands.

Strategic Analysis Australia director Michael Shoebridge said in any discussions about the Port, Mr Albanese should “calmly note” the Chinese government does not allow similar foreign investment or control of its own critical infrastructure.

“We shouldn’t be on the back foot about it, Beijing is ruthless in ensuring no foreign companies would ever control something like the Darwin Port in China,” he said.

“We should expect China to understand our position on the Port because they would never allow it in their own country.”

Michael Shoebridge says the China trip can’t become a propaganda exercise for China. Picture: Supplied

Mr Shoebridge said a measure of success for the trip would be if there was evidence any of the “difficulties and challenges” in the Australia-China relationship were being addressed.

“Or is it all stage managed as some happy trade experience, with all the focus on how we’re doing to grow our trade connection and economic dependency,” he said.

Mr Shoebridge said there was a high risk Beijing would seek to turn Mr Albanese’s travels into a “propaganda exercise” showing Australia is in the “orbit” of China.

Mr Albanese will also meet with Chinese Premier Li Qiang for the official Australia-China Annual Leaders’ Meeting.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will spend six days in China next week. Picture: Chris Kidd / NewsWire

The PM said his government would continue to “patiently and deliberately” work towards a stable relationship with China “with dialogue at its core”.

“I will raise issues that are important to Australians and the region, including my government’s enduring commitment to pursuing Australia’s national interest,” Mr Albanese said.

He said he expected trade to continue “flowing freely” between China and Australia for the “foreseeable future”.

During the trip Mr Albanese will attend the Australia-China CEO roundtable, which will include representatives from major companies like ANZ, BHP, Rio Tinto, Fortescue metals Group, SunRice, UNSW and Monash University.

Business Council of Australia chief Bran Black, who will also attend, said the roundtable was a “crucial forum” for building an “even stronger relationship” with the nation’s largest economic partner.

Australia’s two-way trade with China was worth almost $312 billion last year.

Originally published as Penny Wong’s warning about China before Anthony Albanese’s visit