In a few hours, Anthony Albanese will come face-to-face with Xi Jinping for the fourth time.
The prime minister touched down in Beijing on Monday evening with fiancée Jodie Haydon in tow for his second prime ministerial visit to China. Unlike his 2023 debut — when Premier Li Qiang famously called him a “handsome boy” and the mission was focused on winding back China’s Covid-era trade bans — the purpose of this visit is less obvious.
With all trade strikes now reversed and bilateral trade running at more than $300 billion a year, Albanese could be content with a photo op and lauding the stability of the relationship. Yet he seems to want more.
He’s not alone. On Monday, Albanese met with some of the top players in China’s steel industry and several Australian resources CEOs — including Fortescue’s Andrew Forrest, Rio Tinto’s Kellie Parker and BHP’s Geraldine Slattery — for a roundtable on green steel. The hope: to carve out a role for Australia in Beijing’s long-promised decarbonisation push.
