SYDNEY (Reuters) -China’s Premier Li Qiang will arrive in Australia on Saturday for a four-day visit, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday.
This will be the first visit by a Chinese Premier to Australia since 2017, and was “another important step in stabilising our relationship with China”, Albanese told reporters in Canberra.
Li will visit Adelaide city, the capital Canberra, and Australia’s mining state Western Australia on a four-day visit.
Both leaders will meet with Australian and Chinese business leaders at a roundtable in Western Australia, he said.
China is Australia’s largest trading partner, with Australian resources and energy exports dominating trade flow.
China imposed trade restrictions on a raft of Australian agricultural and mineral products during a diplomatic dispute in 2020, which have now been largely eased.
“Welcoming the Chinese Premier to our shores is an opportunity for Australia to advance our interests by demonstrating our national values, our people’s qualities and our economy’s strengths,” Albanese said.
“Australia continues to pursue a stable and direct relationship with China, with dialogue at its core.”
(Reporting by Kirsty Needham; editing by Shri Navaratnam and Rashmi Aich)
