Anthony Albanese confirms meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Laos for talks to stabilise relationship

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed he will meet Chinese Premier Li Qiang this week as part of ongoing attempts to stabilise the relationship with Australia’s largest trading partner.

Mr Albanese will fly to Laos on Wednesday morning for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and East Asia summits — the first of four international summits the Prime Minister will attend in the next seven weeks.

Speaking in question time before departing Canberra, Mr Albanese confirmed he would meet with Premier Li to build on the Federal Government’s “patient, deliberate and calibrated work” to stabilise relations with China.

The meeting comes amid heightened tensions over China’s military aggression in the South China Sea.

In the latest flare-up, the Philippines has accused China’s coast guard of firing water cannons at government ships.

“National security in our region is obviously critical, and we remain concerned about the events in the South China Sea,” Mr Albanese said.

Mr Albanese will hold also talks with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and new Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba among others during the two-day summit.

“The nations of South East Asia combined will represent the fourth-largest economy in the world by 2040,” Mr Albanese said.

“South East Asia is where Australia’s economic destiny lies and yet less than 4 per cent of international investment goes to South East Asia.”

Speaking with The Nightly ahead of the summit earlier this week, Australian Strategic Policy Institute senior analyst Malcolm Davis said Mr Albanese needed to be more forceful in holding Beijing accountable.

However, Dr Davis doubted that would happen in Laos, predicting Mr Albanese would strike a diplomatic tone as the Federal Government continues efforts to stabilise relations with its largest trading partner.

“Chinese behaviour in general, in terms of its willingness to behave provocatively and challenge existing legal norms and so forth … I think it probably is something that should be raised,” he said.

“(But) I think he (Mr Albanese) will softball it. I think he won’t rock the boat.

“He’ll make some bland statement about sort of maintaining the International Law of the Sea and observing international norms and rules.

“But he won’t disrupt things too much trying to take China on.”

Beijing’s ban on rock lobster imports, the plight of imprisoned Australian writer Yang Hengjun and China’s stimulus package to revive its flagging property market could also be discussed.