Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will tap into tennis players and pandas as part of a six-day Chinese charm offensive emphasising trade and investment ties that underpin Australian jobs, while downplaying geopolitical tensions with Beijing.

But the prime minister is being urged not to avoid difficult topics, with supporters of jailed Chinese-Australian pro-democracy writer Yang Hengjun pleading with Albanese to raise his plight during talks with senior Chinese leaders including President Xi Jinping, and Taiwan’s de facto ambassador to Australia asking the PM to stress the need for peace across the Taiwan Strait.