“[Australian foreign minister] Penny Wong issued a formal invitation to Wang,” one source explained, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject.
“The invitation was the formal conclusion of discussions between the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and [the Chinese] embassy over a couple of weeks.”
02:27
Anthony Albanese becomes first Australian prime minister to visit China in 7 years
Anthony Albanese becomes first Australian prime minister to visit China in 7 years
Wang is expected to spend one day in Canberra and another day in Sydney, according to another source.
The second source added that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has been pushing for a lifting of sanctions on Australian wine and lobsters during Wang’s visit. The two goods have been blocked from import into China since 2020.
In return, the second source said, China is pushing for Australia to sign a new Science and Technology Agreement. The agreement, which the source said has been held up by Canberra due to pressure from the United States, will be an “outstanding issue” for Wang’s visit.
[There are] enormous opportunities for joint scientific research that delivers benefits for both sides
At a press briefing on the day of expiration, a spokeswoman for China’s Foreign Ministry said the two countries were communicating on the subject – and continued to criticise Washington’s “small yard, high fence” strategy of strenuous tech controls.
“Of course, Aukus will see Australia tighten research cooperation with the US and UK, and shrink cooperation with China in technologies with clear military applications,” said James Laurenceson, director of the Australia-China Relations Institute at the University of Technology Sydney.
“But that still leaves enormous opportunities for joint scientific research that delivers benefits for both sides – renewable energy, adapting to climate change, medical advances and so on.”
He noted that Canberra is also “pragmatic enough” to recognise that Australia’s limited scale makes international collaboration “a necessity”, while cutting Australian scientists off from Chinese talent and resources “would be a massive own goal that Canberra wouldn’t want to kick”.
Hoping the door to China opens, Australian winemakers up Hong Kong shipments
Hoping the door to China opens, Australian winemakers up Hong Kong shipments
A third source with knowledge of the matter said Premier Li Qiang could visit Australia in June or July.
DFAT told the Post that “any visits by senior officials of foreign governments will be announced at the appropriate time”.
The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet declined to comment on potential official visits and events until formal announcements are made.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, meanwhile, had yet to reply to the Post’s request for comment.
03:01
China-Australia relations ‘on the right path’, Xi Jinping tells Anthony Albanese on Beijing visit
China-Australia relations ‘on the right path’, Xi Jinping tells Anthony Albanese on Beijing visit
DFAT data showed that China is Australia’s largest two-way trading partner, accounting for 26 per cent of the country’s goods and services trade in the 2022 and 2023 financial years.
China’s General Administration of Customs reported US$229.2 billion in total exports and imports between both countries for 2023, an increase of 4.1 per cent from a year earlier.
“So far we don’t see any changes on the ground regarding imports to the Chinese market,” Zhang added. “It’s still quiet.”
“One changing opportunity in China since the Australian live lobster ban is the emergence of the frozen market,” said Andrew Ferguson, managing director at seafood provider Ferguson Australia.
“Frozen Australian lobster is allowed into China, and our work has seen the development of a premium packaged product that we provide to other parts of the world.”