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July 18, 2025
Anthony Albanese has rejected claims that 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 labelled 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 Mr Albanese said he had raised the issue, noting China's actions were not technically illegal and the Australian Defence Force participates in similar drills.
"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 sixday 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. He highlighted that during the Coalition's last term there were no phone calls between a single Australian minister and their Chinese counterpart.
He wanted to see a "stronger" relationship with China to create better "understanding" and 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 to 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.
Touring the panda centre with his fiancee Jodie Haydon, Mr Albanese came face-toface with Fu Ni, a female giant panda, who called the Adelaide Zoo home for 15 years.
Mr Albanese called Fu Ni a "great ambassador for China and a great friend of Australia" though the panda had to be coaxed into view with an apple.
Mr Albanese also attended a lunch with MedTech representatives and toured a factory for Australian company Cochlear, which manufactures implants for sale into China.