Albanese to echo Gough Whitlam’s 1973 Beijing visit, ahead of Xi Jinping meeting
The Prime Minister has set off in Gough Whitlam’s footsteps with a Temple of Heaven tour before his high stakes meeting with Xi Jinping, as part of a two day itinerary echoing much of the historic 1973 Beijing visit.
Anthony Albanese has set off on Gough Whitlam pilgrimage, hours before his high stakes meeting with Xi Jinping in Beijing.
The Prime Minister on Monday morning toured the Temple of Heaven, an imperial site that Mr Whitlam visited on his historic trip to Beijing in 1973 as the first Australian leader to visit the People’s Republic of China.
“This morning it’s been an opportunity to retrace history,” Mr Albanese said.
“The Labor Party cares about our history. And Australia cares about our history too.”
Mr Albanese was accompanied by Penny Wong and China’s Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian.
The Foreign Minister’s top official DFAT secretary Jan Adams was also in the entourage, along with Australia’s Ambassador Graham Fletcher. They will both accompany the Prime Minister to his pivotal meeting with Mr Xi on Monday evening.
At the Chinese government’s insistence, members of the public were kept well away.
“The entire place is locked down for us,” said a person familiar with the logistics.
Fifty years on, the itinerary for Mr Albanese’s two days in Beijing echoes much of the Whitlam visit.
As with Mr Whitlam, the Prime Minister will have his longest working meeting with China’s premier, the country’s second most senior official.
Albanese to echo Gough Whitlam’s 1973 Beijing visit, ahead of Xi Jinping meeting
He will also have only a brief audience with China’s ultimate leader: in his case, a meeting with Mr Xi on Monday evening at the Great Hall of the People. It is expected to last only an hour.
On Monday morning, the Chinese Ambassador was keen to recreate as many of the images from Mr Whitlam’s Temple of Heaven visit as possible.
“Can I make a suggestion?” Mr Xiao volunteered. “This is where Gough Whitlam had his photo taken.”
It is 50 years since Gough Whitlam became the first Australian Prime Minister to visit China.
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) November 6, 2023
Since he visited the Temple of Heaven in Beijing much has changed.
But what is constant is that engagement between our two countries remains important. pic.twitter.com/NInb093o3J
“The ambassador’s all over it,” said Mr Albanese.
Journalists travelling with Mr Whitlam on that 1973 trip reported the Prime Minister being in a “triumphant mood” after the meeting, toasting the travelling Australian party with shots of “the fiery Chinese spirit, Mao Tai”.
“Spirited renditions of ‘Waltzing Matilda,’ ‘Advance Australia Fair,’ and old Labor songs floated into the dark Peking night as politicians and officials relaxed in the Chinese capital,” the Sydney Morning Herald reported at the time.
Australia’s Ambassador, Mr Fletcher, will host a reception at his residence on Monday evening for the Australian delegation travelling with Mr Albanese after the meeting with Mr Xi.
Briefings by Australian government officials suggest the mood will be a few notches below “triumphant”, despite the Prime Minister on Monday noting “promising signs”.
“It’s an important relationship,” Mr Albanese said, speaking to the media after his tour.
Mr Albanese said his dealings with Mr Xi to date had been “constructive”, while noting the “relationship has changed” profoundly over the last 50 years.
PM @AlboMP in Beijing inspecting the spot where sacrifices were made at the Temple of Heaven.
— Will Glasgow (@wmdglasgow) November 6, 2023
Mercifully, no animals (or journalists) were killed during today’s Gough Whitlam-inspired tour. pic.twitter.com/qaBI9jogWG
“He has never said anything to me that has not been done and that is a positive.
“But we recognise as well that we come with different political systems. Very different values arising from that and different histories.
“My job is to represent Australia’s national interests. He is the leader of a different nation with different interests.”
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