Anthony Albanese visits China: PM responds to criticism his trip has been ‘indulgent’ and focused on ‘photo ops’
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has responded after he was criticised for taking an historic tour of the Great Wall of China and a session posing with pandas.
Anthony Albanese has rejected claims his trip to China – including visits to the Great Wall and a panda conservation centre – has been “indulgent” and insists Australia will benefit from “stronger” and stable relations with Beijing.
The Prime Minister, who described his own relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping as “warm and engaging,” hit back at critics of his “soft diplomacy” efforts as he wrapped up his six-day visit to Shanghai, Beijing and Chengdu on Thursday.
Senior Coalition MPs have called out Mr Albanese’s visit as lacking “tangible” outcomes, too focused on “photo ops” and “not good enough” after he did not walk away from a meeting with Mr Xi with an assurance of better notification when China conducts military exercises in the region.
But the PM said he had raised the issue, noting China’s actions were not technically illegal and that the Australian Defence Force participates in similar drills of its own.
“Australia has engaged in multiple exercises in this (China) region,” he said.
Opposition finance spokesman James Paterson said he believed the China trip had begun to look “indulgent”.
“There are serious issues in the bilateral relationship between Australia and China and it’s good that the Prime Minister had the opportunity to raise those,” he said.
“But I do wonder whether a Gough Whitlam history tour on the Great Wall of China, whether a visit to Chengdu to pose with some pandas, and whether a hit of tennis is strictly necessary as part of a six-day visit to China when there is so much else at stake in our other international relationships around the world.”
On outcomes, Mr Albanese pointed to new tourism co-operation and trade agreements, while also highlighting that during the Coalition’s last term there were no phone calls between a single Australian minister and their Chinese counterpart.
He said he wanted to see a “stronger” relationship with China in order to create better “understanding” and therefore co-operation on issues.
“Will there be a circumstance when there is no disagreements? No, because we have different political systems, we have different cultures, we have different values, so we understand that,” he said.
“What I’d like to see is be able to talk about those issues regularly and get as much agreement as possible, (and) understanding of where our nations are coming from.”
Mr Albanese said his visits to the Great Wall in Beijing and the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding were “worthwhile” for Australians, as the images would be beamed to more than one billion Chinese people – all “potential tourists and there for job creators in Australia”.
“The Great Wall of China symbolises the extraordinary culture and history here in China, and showing a bit of respect to people never cost anything,” he said.
“But you know what it does? It gives you a reward.”
Touring the panda centre with his fiance Jodie Haydon, Mr Albanese came face-to-face with Fu Ni, a female giant panda who called the Adelaide Zoo home for 15 years.
The PM called Fu Ni a “great ambassador for China and a great friend of Australia” though the famously recalcitrant panda had to be coaxed into view with the enticement of a juicy apple.
Mr Albanese also attended a lunch with MedTech representatives and then toured a factory for Australian company Cochlear, which manufactures implants for sale into China.
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CHINESE PANDA GIVES PM A FAREWELL NOD
Anthony Albanese has reunited with an old “friend” of Australia as he finishes his six-day trip to China with a tour of a panda conservation centre.
The Prime Minister came face-to-face with Fu Ni, the giant panda who lived at the Adelaide Zoo for 15 years during a visit to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in central China on Thursday morning.
The famously recalcitrant bear was initially weary of the Australian delegation and hid at the back of her enclosure until the moment Mr Albanese and fiance Jodie Haydon were about to depart the centre when Fu Ni suddenly ambled up carrying an apple and appeared to give the PM a farewell nod.
Mr Albanese said Fu Ni was a “great ambassador for China and a great friend of Australia”.
The PM recalled the time he helped to feed Fu Ni on a past visit to Adelaide and acknowledged Chinese Premier Li Qiang’s “gracious” decision to send Australia a new breeding pair of pandas – Xing Qui and Yi Lan – who arrived earlier this year.
Mr Albanese’s final day in Chengdu will also include a lunch with Medtech and visit to the Cochlear factory.
The PM has come under fire from the Coalition for his trip to China being perceived as not having delivered concrete results for Australia.
“Friendship is important, but it can never come at the cost of that national interest,” Opposition leader Sussan Ley told the Today Show.
“Great photo pics, great ops, a lot of rhetoric … but not a lot of tangible outcomes,” Nationals Senate leader Bridget McKenzie.
Mr Albanese has defended the trip, saying he spent more than eight hours meeting with Premier Li and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing and that diplomacy was about more than talk in publicly through a “megaphone”.
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