Kirsty Needham
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang arrived in Australia on Saturday, saying relations were “back to normal” as he began the first visit by a Chinese premier to a top trading partner in seven years.
Australia “has a unique capacity to connect West and East” and serves as “an important force for economic globalization and world multipolarity,” Li said at Adelaide airport, according to a statement from the Chinese embassy.
Bilateral relations are “back on track after a period of turbulence,” Li said.
Australia is the largest supplier of iron ore to China, which has been an investor in Australian mining projects, although some recent Chinese investments in critical minerals have been blocked by Australia on national interest grounds.
China imposed trade restrictions on a range of Australian agricultural and mineral products in 2020 during a diplomatic row that has now largely died down.
During his four-day visit, Lee will also visit the capital Canberra and the mining state of Western Australia.
“A more mature, stable and fruitful comprehensive strategic partnership will be a treasure shared by the people of both countries,” Li said.
He is expected to visit a pair of pandas on loan from China at Adelaide Zoo on Sunday. Lunch with wine exporters, until recently excluded from the Chinese market, will show trade ties have smoothed out since a dispute that halted A$20 billion ($13 billion) of Australian agriculture and minerals exports last year.
Li arrived from New Zealand, where he highlighted China’s demand for New Zealand’s agricultural products.
China is Australia and New Zealand’s largest trading partner. Canberra and Wellington are seeking to balance trade with regional security concerns over China’s Pacific island ambitions.
In New Zealand, Lee visited major dairy exporter Fonterra on Saturday after signing agreements with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on trade and climate change, where human rights and foreign interference are also on the agenda.