Anthony Albanese said on Sunday that he would set the date for a China visit at an “appropriate time” as he stressed the importance of bilateral trade and expressed concerns about an Australian journalist detained in Beijing.
Talks are under way about a visit by Mr Albanese to China as his Labor government pushes to end in 2020 .
Asked about when a visit would happen, Mr Albanese said “we’ll finalise the date at an appropriate time”, adding that his next overseas trip would be in July to the NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius.
In November, , when the pair held a “successful” bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia.
What does the visit mean for detained Australians?
Mr Albanese refused to be drawn on whether Australians detained in China would be released prior to a visit, but reiterated a call for the release of .
“Cheng Lei … should be released and should be allowed to come home to Australia,” he said on Sky News television, according to an official transcript.
Ms Cheng was arrested in China in while working as a news anchor for the Chinese government’s English TV channel CGTN, and charged with “illegally supplying state secrets overseas”.
Chinese-born Australian journalist Cheng Lei has been detained in China since August 2020. Credit: Vaughn Ridley/Sportsfile for Web Summit via Ge
April marked one year since her case was heard in a closed trial, and she is yet to receive a verdict.
Speaking to SBS News at the time, Ms Cheng’s , who are aged 11 and 13.
“The important thing for someone like me to do is remain patient, remain supportive, remain persistent, and make sure she understands that she’s got a lot of support, and we’ll all be here for her when she’s out — which we all hope will be sooner rather than later,” he said.
Chinese-born Australian author also remains detained in China under secretive conditions.
Dr Yang was detained at Guangzhou Airport in January 2019 following a flight from New York, with Chinese authorities charging him in 2021 with endangering national security by joining or accepting a mission from an unidentified espionage organisation.
He has denied working as a spy for Australia or the United States.
Yang Hengjun and his wife, Yuan Xiaoliang. Source: Supplied
In January, Amnesty International said it was “gravely concerned for the welfare” of Dr Yang, who is “still awaiting a trial verdict that has been delayed multiple times”.
“Amnesty understands Dr Yang has endured hundreds of interrogations and been held in inhumane conditions with severely restricted access to his lawyer and he remains at grave risk of torture and other ill-treatment,” Amnesty International Australia campaigner Nikita White said.
Are Sino-Australian trade relations improving?
Australia continued to advocate for the removal of any impediments to trade between the “two great nations”, Mr Albanese added.
“The truth is that it is in Australia’s interest to export to China, but it’s also in China’s interest to receive those exports,” he said.
China in May said it was set to resume imports of Australian timber days after Trade Minister Don Farrell returned from a trip to Beijing.
A was followed weeks later by the resumption of coal shipments.
“We can grow our bilateral relationship and uphold both our national interests if both countries navigate our differences wisely,” Ms Wong said during her meeting with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing.
In March, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews visited China, where he met with senior officials in Beijing and the Jiangsu and Sichuan provinces.
Mr Andrews was , with many raising concerns over transparency and press freedom.
Then-WA Premier Mark McGowan also visited China in April, with selected journalists accompanying him.
With reporting by Reuters.
