Chinese premier Li Qiang presses Albanese over treatment of Chinese firms amid Darwin angst

Anthony Albanese, on the fourth day of his landmark trip to China, said his government wanted to secure peace and stability through ‘positive engagement’ with Beijing.

Anthony Albanese and partner Jodie Haydon at the Great Wall of China near Beijing. Picture: AAP

Anthony Albanese has rejected a Chinese push for his government to weaken rules blocking the country’s investors from key economic sectors, as a Beijing mouthpiece warned Labor against stripping the Port of Darwin lease from Chinese-owned company Landbridge.

On the fourth day of his landmark trip to China, the Prime Minister said his government wanted to secure peace and stability through “positive engagement” with Beijing, but defended its plan to acquire nuclear-powered submarines through the $358bn AUKUS program.

After a marathon day of meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang on Tuesday, Mr Albanese travelled to the Great Wall of China, paying homage to his Labor hero Gough Whitlam, who visited the same Badaling section of the wall as opposition leader in 1971.

The excursion, with fiancee Jodie Haydon, followed pointed remarks by Mr Li late on Tuesday in which he raised concerns about Australia’s treatment of Chinese firms, which are routinely barred by the Foreign Investment Review Board from taking stakes in critical infrastructure and other sensitive sectors.

“We hope that the Australian side can provide a fair, open and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises in Australia,” Mr Li said during his meeting with Mr Albanese in the Great Hall of the People.

At a later business roundtable, which included senior Chinese business figures with direct experience of Australia’s strict ­foreign investment regime, the Premier pressed the point again.

“We hope that the Australian side will treat Chinese enterprises visiting Australia fairly and properly solve the problems encountered by enterprises in market access, investment review, and other aspects,” Mr Li said.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang. Picture: AFP

Mr Albanese, who has used his second China visit as Prime Minister to talk up the strength of ­bilateral trade ties, pushed back on the critique, saying China wasn’t being singled out. “We have a case-by-case issue when it comes to foreign investment (which) is viewed not on the basis of any one country, but on the basis of an objective assessment of our national interest,” he said.

While the US maintains a policy of “peace through strength”, Mr Albanese said his five-day visit to China underscored his principle that working more closely with potential rivals was a key to maintaining good relations.

“It’s important that we build stability and security in our world, and part of that has to have positive engagement. That’s what I’m doing here,” he said.

However, he said Australia still needed the deterrent of nuclear submarines through the AUKUS program, which is aimed squarely at countering China’s massive military build-up in the Indo-Pacific.

“We need a defence force, and we make no apologies for investing in our capability to give Australia the defence and security assets that we need,” Mr Albanese said.

Mr Albanese and Ms Haydon pose for the cameras on the Great Wall. Picture: AAP

The official Chinese readout of the Prime Minister’s meeting with Mr Xi on Tuesday said he had assured his counterpart that Australia adhered to the “one-China” policy and did not support “Taiwan independence”. But Mr Albanese said he had simply restated longstanding Australian policy.

“We support the status quo,” he said. “By definition, we don’t support any unilateral action on Taiwan. That’s been our position for a long period of time. Nothing is different.”

The Prime Minister flew from Beijing to the capital of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, on Wednesday afternoon, where he will visit China’s largest panda breeding facility, attend a medical technology lunch, and tour Australian bionic ear company Cochlear’s local manufacturing operation.

Australia is the world’s second-largest producer of medtech patents, while China is one of Cochlear’s top five global markets.

Chinese state media gave glowing coverage of the Prime Minister’s meetings with the country’s top leaders at the Great Hall of the People, with photos of Mr Albanese and Mr Xi on the front pages of the top mastheads on Wednesday.

However, the tabloid Global Times confirmed Labor’s election pledge to force the sale of the Port of Darwin loomed as a point of tension, along with Beijing’s unhappiness about Australia’s security relationship with the US.

“At present, there are specific issues between China and Australia that need to be discussed, such as the lease of Darwin Port and the expansion of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement,” it said.

“There are also practical obstacles, especially the tendencies towards ‘pan-politicisation’ and ‘pan-securitisation’, as well as interference from third parties,” the masthead editorialised.

The front pages of the China Daily and the People’s Daily featured a photo of the two leaders on Wednesday.

Mr Albanese, who revealed he spent about two hours each with Mr Xi and Mr Li on Tuesday, said neither raised the port issue with him.

He said Labor’s position wasn’t a new one and shouldn’t surprise Beijing.

“I’ve had the same position as when I was the shadow infrastructure minister, when the decision was made to provide a federal incentive by the Liberal Party to flog off the Port of Darwin,” Mr Albanese said, referring to a former federal scheme that incentivised the sale of state and territory-owned assets.

The Prime Minister and Mr Li on Wednesday agreed senior Chinese economic figures would visit Australia later in the year for the “China-Australia Strategic Economic Dialogue”, to be hosted by Jim Chalmers.

The Treasurer has portfolio responsibility for Australia’s foreign investment regime, giving the Chinese government a further opportunity to press its concerns about the treatment of the ports owner Landbridge.

Mr Albanese also moved to reassure Chinese LNG buyers their existing contracts would be honoured as the government considers an east coast gas reservation policy on top of potential impacts from Labor’s climate change policies.

“We don’t interfere with those sovereign issues when it comes to gas, whether it be for China, for Japan, or for the Republic of Korea,” he said.

Port of Darwin seen from the air. Picture: ASCO

Despite his swipe at Canberra’s foreign investment regime, Mr Li’s comments were mostly warm in his remarks at Wednesday’s meetings, labelling the two countries “natural partners for co-operation”.

“In the current international economic and trade situation, it is even more necessary to deepen co-operation between China and Australia,” he said.

“The economic structures of the two countries are highly complementary, and the foundation for industry and market integration is solid.

Mr Li said the economic relationship should expand into AI and other hi-tech areas in an ambitious push considering the reservations of Australian security officials.

Margaret Whitlam, wife of PM Gough Whitlam, visiting the Great Wall of China. This picture appeared on page 1 of The Australian on Monday, November 5, 1973

At the Great Wall, Mr Albanese said his trip was part of a Labor tradition of engaging with China. “Of course, I have the sense of history, following in the footsteps of the Labor prime minister Gough Whitlam” he said. “There is no question that Gough Whitlam made the right decision (to visit China) in 1971 and that Australia has benefited from that. It certainly is understood here in China that that was an early decision, and was a decision that took courage.”