The Premier of the People’s Republic of China will visit Australia this weekend for the first time since 2017.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Premier Li Qiang will host the Annual Leaders’ Meeting at Parliament House in Canberra on Saturday.
The Chinese premier will also travel to Adelaide and Perth during his four-day visit, and will meet with Chinese business leaders at the seventh Australia-China CEO Roundtable.
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“Premier Li Qiang’s visit to Australia is an important opportunity to engage directly on key issues for both our nations,” Albanese said today.
“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.”
Li’s visit to Australia follows Albanese’s trip to Beijing in November last year. It is the first time a Chinese premier has visited since Li Keqiang in 2017.
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“Australia continues to pursue a stable and direct relationship with China,” the prime minister said.
“China is Australia’s largest trading partner and our economic relationship continues to bring substantial benefits to both our countries.”
During the visit the leaders will also attend a community event to acknowledge the more than one million members of the Chinese-Australian community.
“We will cooperate where we can, disagree where we must and engage in our national interest,” Albanese said.
