Beijing offers visa-free entry to Australians with defence talks flagged to avoid military clashes
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he had a 'constructive' conversation with Chinese Premier Li Qiang which had 'revitalised' engagement between the two countries. (ABC News: Nick Haggarty)
Australians are being offered visa-free entry to China for visits lasting up to 15 days, as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declares relations between both nations have been "renewed and revitalised".
Following a formal meeting with Premier Li Qiang in Canberra, Mr Albanese said Chinese and Australian officials would also hold talks on improving military relations to avoid incidents such as last year's sonar attack on HMAS Toowoomba.
"One of the very practical measures that we spoke about was improving military-to-military communication so as to avoid incidents," Mr Albanese told reporters.
"So obviously what will happen is that officials will go away, and we'll have that discussion about how that can be implemented in practice."
Ahead of their formal discussion, Mr Albanese told his Chinese guest that candid dialogue between Australia and its largest trading partner was important.
"We consistently advocate the importance of a regional world that is peaceful, stable and prosperous, where countries respect sovereignty and abide by international laws and obligations enshrined in UN instruments including with respect to human rights and overall conduct with states," he said.
Speaking through a translator, Premier Li said he hoped his visit would continue to improve diplomatic relations which soured under the Morrison government during the COVID pandemic.
"I sincerely hope that through my current visit I will work with you to build a more mature, stable, and fruitful comprehensive strategic partnership between our two countries to deliver more benefits to our two peoples," he said.
Following their high level dialogue which also involved Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles, Mr Albanese said the bilateral relationship was back on track.
"Australia and China have renewed and revitalised our engagement. We have agreed across a range of MoUs [memoranda of understanding] and arrangements today to continue to drive our practical cooperation as we continue the process of stabilising the relationship," Mr Albanese said.
The Chinese Premier also announced that Beijing would soon offer visa-free travel to Australians, a privilege currently enjoyed by several European nations and New Zealand.
"We agreed to provide each other with reciprocal access to five-year multiple entry visas for tourism, business and visiting family members — so as to better facilitate personal exchanges, China will also include Australia in its Visa Waiver Program," the premier said.
Chinese officials obstruct Cheng Lei
However, the formal events in Canberra were marred by the actions of local embassy staff who tried to block a camera from filming an Australian journalist who had previously been detained in Beijing.
Sky News journalist Cheng Lei, who was released by China last year after spending three years in prison, was in the audience for a formal signing ceremony inside Parliament House when Chinese officials stepped in.
"They went to great lengths to block me from the cameras and I'm only guessing that it's to prevent me from saying something or doing something that they think would be a bad look, but that itself was a bad look," Ms Cheng said after the incident.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he was unaware of the incident but stressed it was important that everyone was able to "participate" in such events in Australia.
Before leaving Canberra Premier Li has also held talks with Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, and met Governor General David Hurley.
On Tuesday the Chinese Premier will tour a lithium plant in Perth, and meet business leaders from the resources sector, before flying home.