Chinese Premier Visits Australia for the First Time in 7 Years
Chinese Premier Li Chang, visiting Australia, emphasized the need to strengthen cooperation between the two countries. This statement came as the two nations, which had been in a phase of conflict for years, recently began to experience a thawing atmosphere.
Chinese media, including Xinhua News Agency, reported that on the 16th (local time), Premier Li visited the Adelaide Zoo in Australia with Francis Adamson, Governor of South Australia, and Peter Malinauskas, Premier of South Australia, where he made these remarks.
On the 16th (local time), Chinese Premier Li Chang (second from the right) visiting an Australian zoo [Image source=AFP Yonhap News]
On the same day, Premier Li also visited a winery in South Australia. This visit was seen as symbolic in relation to China’s lifting of tariffs on Australian wine earlier this year.
Following his visit to New Zealand, Premier Li arrived in Australia the day before and is carrying out a four-day schedule. This is the first visit by a Chinese premier to New Zealand and Australia in seven years since 2017.
His visit to Australia came as China and Australia, which had experienced conflicts not only in security but also in economic sectors, recently entered a phase of resolution. Since 2018, Australia had taken a stance on sanctions related to China, and China responded by imposing high tariffs on imports such as Australian wine.
However, after the Australian Labor Party government took office in 2022, a reconciliation trend emerged, and last year, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s visit to China gradually helped to mend the conflicts. Premier Li’s visit is also a reciprocal visit following Prime Minister Albanese’s trip to China.
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