Cheng, now working as a journalist for Sky News Australia, said Chinese officials tried to stop her being filmed when she arrived to cover Li’s visit to the nation’s parliament on Monday.
“They went to great lengths to block me from the cameras and to flank me,” she told Sky News Australia.
“And I’m guessing that’s to prevent me from saying something or doing something that they think would be a bad look,” she told Sky News Australia. “But that itself is a bad look.”
Footage shows two individuals huddling next to Cheng at the media event, in what she says was an effort to stop her being filmed, before Australian officials intervene and moved her to a new seat.
Australian media said the individuals were Chinese diplomats, but this could not be independently confirmed.
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Australian journalist Cheng Lei in first interview since release from China detention
Australian journalist Cheng Lei in first interview since release from China detention
The mother of two had been a familiar face on the state broadcaster’s English-language channel, conducting interviews with noted CEOs from around the world.
She was tried behind closed doors, with even Australia’s ambassador to China blocked from entering the court to observe proceedings.
Cheng’s case had been a serious point of friction between Canberra and Beijing.
China’s ministry of state security said at the time that Cheng was deported after serving her time on charges of “illegally providing state secrets overseas”.
Li, the highest-ranking Chinese official to visit since 2017, said his trip to Australia demonstrated “that this relationship is on the right track of steady improvement and development”.